Harry Potter and the Untold Year
by Telcontar1420
Summary: This is the tale of what happened at Howarts the year Harry left. Chapters will alternate between Ginny Weasley, Neville Longbottom and Luna Lovegood. It will be as canon as I can make it, with chapters posted every weekend. Rated M for sporadic violence throughout followed by the battle of Hogwarts. No detailed descriptions of violence, no sex and no (genuine!) coarse language.
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter One**

"I've not seen him all summer," Ginny lied defiantly as she struggled not to swear at or jinx the Ministry of Magic employee who had forced her into her own bedroom and who now stood in front of the door, wand at the ready, blocking her escape. "Not since the Hogwarts Express."

The tall, heavy-set man stared intently at her, but Ginny was sure he didn't have the skill to perform Occlumency. He was, as she had known from the first second he had grabbed her wand arm, no more than a common thug. A thug who had been legitimised by the new Ministry regime, but a thug nonetheless. "Have you had any form of contact with Harry Potter?" he tried, an impatient bite to his tone. "And don't you dare try lying to me, girl, I'll know if you do."

How stupid did he think she was? "Nothing," she said strongly, tossing her flaming red hair back over her shoulder because it was ticking her collarbone. Would he dare try to hurt her? Ginny thought she would be able to stop him, but not without doing magic, and that would cause her a whole new set of problems. The last thing she needed was to be disciplined by the Ministry for breaking the Reasonable Restriction of Underage Sorcery.

"Not a very good boyfriend, then, is he?" the man asked, and Ginny couldn't help but feel a flash of annoyance even though she knew it was exactly what he wanted.

"He's not my boyfriend. We broke up. I've not seen him since school. I've not heard from him since school," she reiterated, hoping that he would take this information back to the Ministry.

"What about the Mu- I mean, the girl Granger, then?" the thug asked. This time, Ginny suspected that he wasn't trying to make her angry by nearly using a very rude word to describe one of her best friends. She thought it was probably a genuine slip of the tongue and that the Ministry employee simply thought of Muggle-borns that way.

"Nothing from her, either," Ginny lied again. "Probably hiding, you're not treating Mudbloods very well, are you?" The word tasted dirty in her mouth, but a small part of her knew that she hadn't meant it in a derogatory fashion. She hoped that the brute would think that she was proud of her pure-blood status, and at the very least she wanted him to know that she had noticed his mistake.

The thug didn't answer her question. Ginny wondered idly if he was a Death Eater, somebody who agreed with most of Voldemort's actions or just a coward who simply didn't dare disagree with Voldemort controlling the Ministry. From what she had seen so far, she suspected he was a willing participant in the terrorisation of witches, wizards and Muggles all over the country.

"I've not seen or spoken to anybody but my family and the wedding guests since Hogwarts," Ginny told him again. This much, at least, was true, although the guest list had included many people whom the Ministry would have liked to interrogate and who had barely fled in time to avoid capture. She put an emphasis on the word 'wedding,' but didn't think it would make any difference. This man would feel no remorse for interrupting Bill and Fleur's celebrations; instead, for a brief moment he looked up and down her dress, plainly appraising what was underneath.

The man Ginny suspected of being a Death Eater returned his gaze to her face and scowled, but didn't disagree with her answer. She swore to herself that she would thank Fred and George later for teaching her, if only by example, to lie convincingly, and looked directly into the man's eyes. "Anything else?" she asked him, and she worked very hard to keep the challenge out of her tone. As much as it would feel good to antagonise him, it couldn't end well.

"No," he told her grudgingly, and at the same time Ginny heard footsteps in the hall outside. Heavy footsteps, not belonging to anyone she knew. Her questioner stepped out to join his companion without a backward glance and she hesitated only a moment to check that her wand was still securely stowed down the front of her dress before following him.

It seemed that most of the Death Eaters and their companions had finished their interrogations. As Ginny passed a window she saw a small group of them standing in the yard, clearly waiting for the two who were currently on their way downstairs. Hearing footsteps on the stairs above, Ginny turned sharply, but it was the twins. She paused a moment, waiting for them to reach her, then without a word the three carried on downstairs. They found the rest of the family in the living room, accompanied by the members of the wedding party who had not been able to Disapparate in time to avoid capture.

Ginny took a good look around as she joined everybody else. There were plenty of cuts and bruises, and the odd mark here and there left by a hex, but it didn't seem like anybody was permanently cursed or injured. She saw pale faces and knew that her own must look just as white, other than the angry red flush she could feel heating her cheeks. Searching for her parents, she returned her mother's terrified look with what she hoped was a reassuring one, but didn't speak.

It appeared that everyone had gathered in the living room, with the obvious exception of Bill and Fleur. Ginny wasn't sure which of their guests had managed to leave, but was fairly certain that all those who had been captured had also been released. She waited in silence, but only had to endure a few minutes of this, which in its own way was worse than being interrogated, before Bill and Fleur joined them from the kitchen.

All eyes turned to the group of Death Eaters and Ministry employees in the yard, hoping that they had completed the work they had come to do. Sure enough, when joined by the pair who had just finished with Bill and Fleur, the group Disapparated with a popping noise that Ginny heard clearly through the glass of the window.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter Two**

Neville Longbottom put down his knife and fork with a satisfied smile. He knew full well that creating good food from nothing was a task that could not be achieved using magic, but it sometimes felt like his grandmother was able to do it all the same. Today's dinner of salmon, new potatoes and home grown vegetables was as tasty as anything he had ever eaten and his one, small, regret was that there hadn't been more of it. Despite the high quality, there was never the variety or quantity of food at home that he enjoyed at school, and a part of him knew that this wasn't entirely a bad thing. His waistline tended to grow rather alarmingly during term time and shrink over the holidays.

"Gran, that was great, thank you," he said. "I don't suppose we could get started with the pudding?"

"Only if you fetch it yourself," his grandmother said severely, but Neville thought he detected a subtle movement of her eyes and lips that showed she didn't really feel that way. Neville smiled, and raised his wand. "Accio apple tart!" he said, causing the apple tart to fall from the sideboard onto the floor and skid towards them. As it neared the table Neville was pleased to see it rise then settle into position on the tablecloth, followed by a jug of cream, two spoons, two forks and a pair of small plates.

It felt good to be able to use magic whenever and wherever he wanted; this was easily the best part of being seventeen. His birthday presents and the five course meal his grandmother had cooked that day had been excellent, but none of it compared to his new of-age status, not even the gold and silver watch she had given him and which now sat proudly on his wrist.

Neville was just beginning to feel rather pleased with himself for having Summoned dessert without breaking anything when he glanced from the apple tart to his grandmother's face. It was completely white. Without consciously thinking, Neville raised his wand again, but it was too late.

The group of three wizards who burst through the front door may have been wearing Ministry of Magic robes, but Neville recognised one, a huge blonde wizard, and knew that he was a Death Eater. He had fought the man, who had admittedly been wearing a mask and hood at the time, on the night when Dumbledore had fallen from the tower. For a moment, Neville could not move. The three did not start with curses; instead the smallest of the group pointed his wand from Neville to his grandmother, and ropes bound them to their chairs.

Somehow, he didn't know how, Neville kept hold of his wand. He tried to think, but his brain seemed to be working even more slowly than usual. He hadn't managed to remember a single jinx or hex that would incapacitate all three strangers at once, nor worked out a way to remove the ropes, when the small man spoke.

"Where's Harry Potter?" he asked in a squeaky voice that didn't suit his scarred face and twisted smile.

"How should I know?" Neville answered. He had the distinct impression that his grandmother was trying to come up with a way out of the situation, and did his best to keep the Death Eaters' attention focused on himself. If he could only get them to forget about Gran… it was likely they would dismiss her, not thinking her capable of fighting back. Well, they would see. "Where have you tried already?" he asked. "Been to his house? Blown it up?"

"Insolent boy!" the large blonde man exclaimed raising his wand, but the third Death Eater, the one who had done nothing up to this point, gave him a warning look.

"Of course he's not at his house, Longbottom, now tell me, where would he go?"

Neville felt a rush of hope. Harry, it seemed, had managed to escape from his house without being captured by the Death Eaters. "I don't know," he replied. "But if you're trying here, you must be really desperate." He thought he saw a movement out of the corner of his eye, but he refused to draw attention to his grandmother by looking in her direction. "Have you tried Hogwarts? He always liked school. Said it was more home than that Muggle house was." He hoped with all his heart that Harry had not been allowed into the castle over the holidays, and that the Death Eaters couldn't get past the school's magical protection, but he was also fairly sure that he wasn't giving them any information they didn't already have.

The next thing Neville knew, half the ceiling had fallen down. This seemed to be his grandmother's work, because two of the Death Eaters were buried, unconscious, under the rubble. The third was groping for his wand. Ignoring the pain of the ropes digging into his wrist as he moved his hand, Neville shot a conjunctivitis curse at the one remaining adversary, and he gave up the search, rubbing at his eyes.

"Gran? Relashio!" He forced the ropes to remove themselves from his grandmother, and she untied his by hand, not letting go of her wand as she did so. As soon as he was free, the two of them shot several more spells at the Death Eaters. More ropes, an anti-disapparition jinx, a useful little spell that Neville had picked up from Harry which meant the Death Eaters could hear nothing but buzzing… Neville finished by conjuring blindfolds.

"Gran? What do we do now?" he asked, starting to shake.

"We leave," she told him. "Two minutes, down here, with everything you want to take to school."

Neville did not answer, and he didn't stop to ask where they were going. This was one of those times when he knew it was best to simply do as he had been told. He used a combination of physical lifting and magic to pack his trunk as quickly as he could, then closed it. He cast one last spell, and the trunk floated off down the stairs. Silently thanking Professor Flitwick for teaching him the locomotion charm, Neville grabbed his broom, tucked his toad into his pocket and ran down the stairs.

Gran was waiting in the kitchen, holding a large handbag that Neville knew had been made even bigger inside by the use of a slightly illegal extension charm. "Ready?" she asked.

"Let's go," Neville told her.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter Three**

Luna gripped her father's hand tightly as they ran towards the edge of the protective enchantments surrounding the Burrow. She knew without being told that they would Disapparate together the moment they crossed the invisible line, and she wasn't going to risk being left behind. It was more than annoying that she wasn't allowed to use magic outside of school, but she didn't know how transport herself anyway. She did, however, know how to fight. Had Ginny not shouted at her to run, she would have stayed, no matter the punishment she might receive for resisting the wizards who were now appearing all around them.

The protective enchantments had broken, or else they'd reached their limits. Luna felt the change and raised one leg to spin like a ballerina with her father, rotating in place on one foot. The next thing she knew, the world had gone dark and she was being squeezed from all angles. It was working.

They landed in the yard outside their tall, crooked home. Luna wondered if the Death Eaters would come looking for her here, and decided that they probably wouldn't. If they had planned on hunting her specifically, they would be here already.

"Rather an excellent wedding, wasn't it?" she asked. "I do hope they're not too upset it had to end early."

"Not enough yellow clothing," Mr. Lovegood said. "And I even put an article in the Quibbler last week, saying how sun colours are lucky at a wedding."

Luna sighed, and made her way up the steps to the front door. Once inside she climbed to the top floor, where a trap door opened into her bedroom. This room was bright, owing to the large windows, and had a high ceiling, as it went right up to the roof. Still, there were improvements that could be made. Luna drew out her wand, no longer worried about using magic because the Ministry would have no way of knowing that a spell cast in the house was not her father's work. Slowly, carefully, she used the tip of the wand as a paintbrush, holding it several inches away from the ceiling as she added to the portrait she had already partially drawn there.

Harry, Ginny and Hermione smiled down at her as she painted. This portrait was of Neville, and she supposed that once she finished it, Ron would be next. Singing under her breath, Luna lost herself in the work, pleased to be thinking of her five friends.

It took almost the entire summer holidays to finish the five pictures even though Luna had already worked almost non-stop during every holiday for over a year, ever since she had accompanied Harry to the Ministry of Magic. She had known from the start that it would be a long-term project, but that didn't matter. For some reason it felt good to have something to focus on, and she especially liked laying at night in the near darkness, looking up at the faces above her, watching over her.

There was only one thing left to do, and Luna began the task with less than two weeks to go until her return to Hogwarts. She looked at the portraits, imagining where the final pieces were going to go, and raised her wand. Words appeared, shimmering gold, as she concentrated. She snaked the words around the five portraits, knowing how each chain was going to interlink with the others, and didn't hear when her father called that he had made her dinner.

All the following day, and for several days after that, Luna used her wand to write on the ceiling. One word only she painted, time and time again. Friends.

Luna was pleased with the results of her efforts, and when eventually she completed the painting on the sunny afternoon only three days before the Hogwarts Express would pick her up from Kings Cross station, she spent the entire evening laying on her bed, staring up at her ceiling as the fading sun illuminated her work.

Luna thought that, as she only had two days left with her father before they were separated until Christmas, she would like to spend some time with him. Other than at Bill and Fleur's wedding, they had not been together much apart from at mealtimes, which Luna realised wasn't enough. She lay in bed, the dawn breaking, and knew that her father would be awake. He did not sleep any more than she did; it was from him that she had inherited her ability to function well after only a few hours' rest.

After dressing Luna made her way downstairs, past the giant printing press that stood, for the moment, silent. She entered the kitchen and pointed her wand at a pan of water on the stove, which began to heat up, then headed out of the door.

She was in luck. Several dirigible plums had grown large enough to be picked; Luna did so, cutting through the stems with a severing charm, and returned indoors. The plums went into two bowls for breakfast, and a handful of gurdyroot leaves went into the pan of water, which was now boiling, to make a tea. She added copious amounts of sugar to her mug, because the gurdyroot tea was too bitter for her taste without it, but put none in her father's mug, knowing that he preferred his tea without.

Luna added the tea to the mugs, placed them and the bowls of plums onto a tray and used a hover charm to make the tray float in mid-air in front of her. She had learned through experience that things were less likely to spill as she took them up the wobbly staircase if she was not actually carrying them. This way was much safer, and with the assistance of a levitation charm she reached her father's room without incident.

Mr. Lovegood was dressed, and they sat in the two chairs beside his bedroom window to eat breakfast. Sunlight streamed into the room, but not directly. The window had been put in just the right place to look out of at this time of day, and as she sat sipping her gurdyroot tea, Luna thought of her mother. Long ago, it had been she who had suggested the window, and it had been she who ate breakfast here with her father. Now only her father remained, and this seemed to be one of the occasions that Luna felt sad about that.


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter Four**

Ginny was late. For the first time in her life she would be travelling on the Hogwarts Express without any of her older brothers, but it appeared that she could hold up proceedings just as well as any of them would have done. Her school robes needed ironing, she hadn't fed the chickens, she had no clean Muggle jeans left to wear to the train station and her copy of The Standard Book of Spells; Grade Six seemed to have disappeared completely.

It was very tempting to swear. Ron would have done it, she knew, probably Bill, too. Fred and George would have laughed, not worried, and Charlie would simply have smiled. Percy… Percy wouldn't have let things get into this state. The only thing that stopped Ginny was the knowledge that if Mrs. Weasley entered Ginny's bedroom to hear her daughter using impolite language, Ginny would be tasting soap bubbles for a week at the very least.

Ginny, still dressed in an old shirt of Harry's and the underwear that she had slept in, made her way downstairs, where she grabbed a bacon sandwich on her way through the kitchen. She hurried across the yard to the chicken shed, opened the door to let the birds out for the day and took a scoopful of feed from the bin by the shed door. She scattered the feed quickly, picked up another bacon sandwich on her way back through the kitchen and paused in the living room, where her mother was waiting.

"Thanks, Mum," Ginny said, between mouthfuls, as Mrs. Weasley piled freshly ironed jeans and school robes into her arms.

"Next time, you make sure you pick these up before we're due to leave," Mrs. Weasley reprimanded her daughter. "And don't you dare get bacon grease on your clean clothes!" she added, but Ginny was already halfway up the stairs.

Ginny dressed and packed quickly, thinking of her first year at Hogwarts, when Harry and Ron had missed the train. The idea of flying a car to Hogwarts was insane, but she thought it would be fun, just once, to give her dad's Ford Anglia a go. It was, as far as she knew, still roaming the Forbidden Forest. How would she get to school, if she wasn't fast enough to catch the train?

It didn't seem to matter much. Ginny had come to the conclusion over the last few weeks that she didn't really care about going back to school. It wouldn't be the same without Harry, her brothers, Hermione, without Dumbledore. Two things only prevented her from leaving, and neither of them was the law now in place stating that all school age witches and wizards must attend. The first was her other friends; the girls in her dorm, the rest of Gryffindor house, Luna and everybody from the DA. The other thing that Ginny had considered was her mother's reaction if yet another of the Weasley children abandoned their education.

Soon Ginny was almost ready. All that was left to do was find her missing textbook; even after sorting through everything in her room, it had still not appeared. Sighing, she made her way back downstairs, where she found her father sipping a mug of tea in the kitchen.

"Morning, Dad," Ginny said, and Mr. Weasley smiled at her. Before he could return the greeting, she asked, "Have you seen my Standard Book of Spells?" Mr. Weasley shook his head, his mouth now full of bacon sandwich, and Ginny continued. "Could you Summon it for me? Please? If you'd only let me do magic…"

Mr. Weasley found his voice. "You are not to do magic outside of school until you're seventeen. I know the Ministry wouldn't know it wasn't your mother or I, but it's still against the law." He picked up his wand, and a moment later the textbook flew through the door and into his waiting hand.

Ginny heard footsteps on the stairs, and knew her mother was about to ask if she was prepared to go. She hurried back to her room, passing Mrs. Weasley but not giving her a chance to speak, and shoved The Standard Book of Spells: Grade Six into her trunk. Her wand went into her jeans pocket, and she turned to shout out of her bedroom door. "Mum? Dad? Are you ready to leave?"

Mrs. Weasley appeared almost instantly. Framed in the doorway, she pointed her wand at the trunk, which floated up into the air. She stepped aside and it made its own way down the stairs. Ginny caught up a moment later to find it hovering in the yard, her father shooing away a chicken that had landed on one end and was settling down to stay there.

"How are we getting to the station?" Ginny asked. There would be no Ministry car this year, and Kings Cross was not connected to the Floo network. They were far too far away to walk, her parents did not ride brooms, and the train would be leaving in less than half an hour.

"We have no choice but to Apparate," Mr. Weasley said. "We could have used Floo powder to get to London and then walked, but I couldn't think where the best chimney would be, and we're running low on powder. All you need to do is grasp my hand."

"I'll be taking your trunk," Ginny's mother added. "I'll see you two there," she said, and she gripped one of the trunk's handles. Mrs. Weasley turned on the spot, and vanished.

"Let's go," Mr. Weasley said. "Your mother won't like being at the station alone. Let's not keep her waiting."

Ginny reached out and took her father's hand, suddenly apprehensive. She knew she would soon have Apparition lessons, but being asked to do it with no warning was an entirely different matter. "I just hold tight?" she confirmed, and her father nodded. The next thing Ginny knew, they were twisting together through crushing darkness. She couldn't breathe; her chest didn't seem able to expand.

Almost as soon as it had started, it was over. Ginny and her father were standing in a shabby alley, deserted apart from Mrs. Weasley and the trunk, which now rested on the ground. The sound of trains told Ginny that they had arrived somewhere close to the station as they had intended, and she let go of her father's hand.


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter Five**

Neville smiled when he opened his eyes to see the Hogwarts Express, the scarlet engine already steaming and the innumerable carriages filling quickly. Crossing the magical barrier onto platform nine and three quarters was something he had never become used to doing, but it was with sadness that he realised he would only do it twice again.

There were plenty of people Neville knew by sight scattered around the platform, but none of those he most wanted to talk to. He could not see Harry, Ron or Hermione, nor were Dean or Seamus anywhere near. Ginny and Luna too were absent, and he wondered how many of his few friends would be returning to school this year. He hoped they were simply late, or else on board the train already, but he knew he was likely to be disappointed.

It would be nothing short of complete idiocy for Harry to return to Hogwarts, and Hermione, he suspected, would be in danger because of her parentage, Dean as well. Ron and Ginny, he was less sure about. He hoped Seamus and Luna, at least, would appear soon.

"I'll see you for Christmas, Gran," he said, bending to give his grandmother a kiss on the cheek. Every time he thought about the last few weeks, he came to realise yet again just what a remarkable woman she was. "I've got Trevor, and my robes and books. I've got my Remembrall, and I'm wearing the watch. Thank you again for them both."

"Hurry, or you won't get a seat," was the only reply Neville got. As he strode down the platform he looked back to see his grandmother, shorter than anybody else but straight backed and as proud as any of them. He patted the back right pocket of his jeans, checking that he also had his wand, then waved with one hand as he stepped up into the train, dragging his trunk with the other.

As Neville had feared, the first few compartments he passed were full or nearly so. He walked almost the entire length of the train, resorting eventually to levitating his trunk, before he found Ginny and Luna, who were sitting alone together, staring out of the window at Mr. and Mrs. Weasley, and at Mr. Lovegood. "Hi," he said, pointing at a seat. "Can I sit down?"

"Hi, Neville," Ginny said, gesturing towards the seat to indicate that he could take it. "How was your summer?" she asked.

"Hello," Luna said dreamily. "It feels rather foolish to be going back to Hogwarts this year, doesn't it?"

"Um, not bad, Ginny, and you might be right, Luna," Neville answered, a little disconcerted.

"Well, we all know the school is nothing but an outpost of the Ministry these days, isn't it?" Luna explained patiently. "And if the Ministry don't like Harry, then I don't like the Ministry."

"Well said," Ginny told her.

"No offence, but I hope you're wrong, Luna," Neville said. "McGonagall will be a great Head. I mean, she's no Dumbledore," he paused to swallow before continuing, "But she's still going to be great."

"I just hope she's allowed to be great," Ginny put in, a trace of sadness in her voice. "I bet we get another Umbridge."

Neville couldn't argue against this. Luna was staring out of the window again, apparently interested in a flock of birds, and he turned slightly to address Ginny. "Honestly, I don't know what to say about my summer," he admitted. "It was normal to start with, and my birthday was great," he showed Ginny his watch and she nodded appreciatively, "But these last couple of weeks…" He trailed off, unsure how much to say or how to accurately describe it.

"We heard rumours," Ginny said. "That you and your grandmother were attacked by Death Eaters, but you escaped."

"They came to question us," Neville explained. "Gran was amazing. I wish you could have seen it. They were the ones who had to escape." He told her all about the incident, but did not go into detail about the following stay at his great-aunt and great-uncle's house. "What about you?" he concluded. "No Ron?"

"No Ron, no Harry, no Hermione," she told him, confirming what he had known from the moment he had walked into the carriage. "You promise not to tell if I tell you what they're doing?"

"Of course," Neville assured her.

"I told Luna before you got here," Ginny said, noticing Neville's eyes flick towards the scraggly blonde hair that was all they could see of their friend. "They're somewhere, doing something, on Dumbledore's orders. I don't know what, they say he told them not to tell anyone. Something that might help destroy You-Know-Who."

"You never used to mind saying the name." Neville was surprised. Although he himself had never spoken the word aloud, he knew Ginny had no such fear.

"Can't," Ginny warned him sharply. "Don't. It's been made Taboo. Saying it breaks protective enchantments now, and lets the Death Eaters know where you are."

"Wow," Neville said. It wasn't a problem for him, he had never had the courage to say the name, but if someone like Ginny or Professor McGonagall were to slip up…

"You have to admit," said Luna, "It's smart." She hadn't turned, and her voice was muffled by an increase in noise from the steam engine that pulled the train. Ginny and Neville leaned to look out of the window, and Neville swept the platform with his eyes until he spotted his grandmother. He gave one last wave, then settled back in his seat.

"She'll probably go home now," he said. "Gran. I just hope the Death Eaters don't think she's important enough to go after."

"They shouldn't," Ginny said, but Neville wasn't completely convinced. "It was never her they wanted, was it? It's all about Harry, isn't it? It was you they needed to talk to, not her. Luna's right, we're going to be worse off at school than your Gran is at home."

Neville, who had always looked forward to his return to Hogwarts at the end of every holiday, had to admit that this year might not be what he was hoping for. He shifted in his seat to watch as the towering buildings of London were replaced by fields in varying shades of green, brown and yellow, thinking that maybe he would have done better not to return, after all.


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter Six**

As the Hogwarts Express moved out into open countryside Luna pulled a magazine out of her backpack. She had read this week's issue of The Quibbler, so she was reduced now to Witch Weekly. It was, in her opinion, full of unlikely stories and insignificant articles, but it was nonetheless sufficiently amusing to entertain her for the next half an hour. Ginny and Neville's voices faded into the background, but at no point did she tune them out completely; she had waited all summer to hear them again.

Luna fingered the Galleon in her pocket. It was not real money, although she did not doubt some vendors would be happy to accept it. The coin was worth more to Luna than a real one would have been; it was the one Hermione had enchanted and given to her during her fourth year. In a way, it was like having Hermione with her. Hermione could, at any time, send a message to Luna, and the rest of the DA, by use of the matching coin that Hermione had kept.

It made Luna sad, she realised, to know that she would probably never see Hermione again. She missed Harry as well, and Ron nearly as much. Luna had learned a long time ago that it was alright to feel like that sometimes, as long as she didn't let it stop her from enjoying the good things.

Once Luna had finished reading her magazine she put it away and joined Ginny and Neville's conversation, which had moved on to Bill and Fleur's wedding. The topic kept the three occupied until they were interrupted by a chill that spread throughout the compartment, making it difficult to speak, or even to think.

"Dementors!" Ginny gasped, and Luna realised she was correct.

"Patronuses, then," she said, wondering why Ginny and Neville weren't drawing their wands. She herself held hers high, thinking of the DA meeting where she had first mastered the complex spell, and whispering under her breath she caused a silver hare to burst from the wand's tip. She felt completely calm; Luna had long ago come to terms with her worst memories.

Before Neville or Ginny had managed to do any more than grasp their wands, the door to the compartment slid open. A single dementor, black robes floating behind the figure as it drew a rattling breath, drifted inside. It did not dare to pass Luna's patronus, which sat in front of the three students and batted a foreleg at the dementor in the manner of a cat with a fly.

"We can do this," Luna said, and that seemed to be enough. Two more silver shapes burst from Ginny and Neville's wands, forcing the dementor back through the door and out of sight. Luna did not let her hare disappear; it made her feel better to have it for company. The silver vapour knew her innermost thoughts far better than her friends did.

"Come on!" Neville had risen from his seat, rejuvenated. "We have to help the others."

Luna knew Neville was right. Very few of the students on the Hogwarts could conjure a patronus.

"I think they'll be alright," Ginny said, still seated. "The dementors were probably after Harry."

"Then let's get rid of them," Neville suggested.

"I like that idea," Luna told her friends, smiling. She stood, and Ginny jumped up as well. Together the three students and three patronuses left the compartment.

"I can feel them, they're that way." Neville pointed to the rear of the train. Ginny nodded, and it felt to Luna too as if the sense of freezing despair was emanating from that direction. She pointed her wand and the silver hare bounded away, chasing down the dementors. She, Ginny and Neville reached the next compartment, and slid the door open.

Seamus Finnegan, whom Luna recognised from the DA as one of Neville's seventh year friends, had his wand out. It was shaking, but when he saw who had joined him, a look of determination settled onto his strong features. A moment later, a silver fox burst out of the tip of his wand and trotted off down the train.

Luna followed Ginny back into the corridor, Seamus and Neville beside her. They marched down the train, stopping only twice, and when they reached the final compartment, the total number of their group had risen to nine. Padma Patil, Lavender Brown, Terry Boot, Michael Corner and Colin Creevy cast their patronuses, then together they charged through the door.

This compartment was full of first year students, each and every one cowering back against the walls in an effort to get as far away as possible from the three hooded figures towering over them. There was barely enough space, and Luna felt Ginny's elbow moving as Ginny shouted, "Get out! Harry's not here!"

The nine patronuses formed a line, and each moved in its own way towards the three dementors. Luna's hare jumped onto the lap of a tiny first year girl, who stared down at it with alarm, and Colin's vole floated gracefully to land between two even smaller boys. The remaining patronuses, led by Seamus's fox, forced the dementors back until they had nowhere to go but through the window.

The dementors were far too large to fit through the open vent above the window, but somehow they managed it. They disappeared from sight immediately, swept away by the wind as the train hurried on between high hills.

"That was fun." Luna smiled. She hadn't enjoyed anything so much since the DA meetings, and it took her a moment to realise that everybody else was shaking, sweating or, in the case of the younger students, crying. "It does feel better now the cold's gone, though, doesn't it?" she added, with a sideways glance at Ginny.

"Much better," Ginny agreed. "We're all alright now."

The patronuses flickered briefly, then disappeared. Luna sat down, following Ginny's example, and began to say what she hoped were words of comfort to the first year students on either side of her. "It's all over now," she started, and the girl on her right wiped a sleeve across her face. "Well, it was an interesting ride to Hogwarts, but you'll love it when you get there," she continued with a smile.


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter Seven**

It was evening by the time the Hogwarts Express reached Hogsmeade station. The sky was growing dark, but no stars showed yet. Ginny led Neville and Luna out onto the platform, where they joined the queue for carriages up to the castle. She was the only one of the three who could not see the sleek black thestrals harnessed to the carriages, but she had no desire to do so. Ginny had seen pictures, and had listened as Harry had described the creatures; as far as she was concerned, that was enough.

They inched slowly forwards, following a group of third year Ravenclaw girls, until at last they reached the front of the line. Ginny did not speak as she climbed the steps; everything they could say in public had already been said. As soon as Neville had sat down, the door snapped shut and the carriage began to move. The ride was bumpy, but no more than what Ginny expected. She still did not speak, feeling vaguely that there was the possibility of being overheard. They would have to find somewhere to hold private conversations in safety, but she could not think of anywhere suitable. In any case, it would be sensible to find out what the situation was at school before trying to plan for it.

Ginny knew that she should focus on her NEWTS now that she had completed her OWLS, but she had come to the conclusion over the summer that she would devote no more time than necessary to this. With Harry, Ron and Hermione gone, there would be nobody as qualified as Ginny, Luna, Neville and the remainder of the DA to resist whatever measures the Ministry had in place to subdue the students and teachers of Hogwarts.

For the next few minutes Ginny thought as hard as she could, but could not come up with a way to protect against magical eavesdropping. There was nothing she could do other than cast a shield charm before speaking. "Do you think we should start the DA again?" she asked.

"What for?" Luna looked sleepily over the rims of her glasses, her eyes unfocused.

"We can't let them get away with whatever they're planning for the school," Ginny exclaimed. How could Luna not see it?

"It wouldn't work." Neville spoke quietly, and Ginny could tell immediately that he had given the matter a lot of thought over the holidays.

"Why not?" Ginny's voice was sharper than she intended, but she did not care.

"We haven't got the coins. Well, not Hermione's, and that's the most important one."

"I'll make new ones."

"Oh, you can do a Protean charm now?" Luna was suddenly far more interested.

"No. Well, we'll learn, won't we? It's an NEWT spell, isn't it?"

"It's horribly tricky," Neville said. "By the time one of us can do it, it'll be too late."

Ginny refused to answer this, and the three spent the rest of the journey in silence. She leapt out of the carriage first and marched off to the Great Hall without waiting to make sure that Neville made it safely down the steps. She was annoyed and, despite being perfectly aware of the fact, she tended to behave like this when annoyed. Some part of her knew that she would regret it later, but right now that didn't seem to matter.

Alone in the crowd, Ginny made her way through the front doors and across the Entrance Hall. A low buzz of noise emanated from the Great Hall, much less than there usually was at the start of term feast. She herself was silent in her fury as she strode past the Sytherin, Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff tables to reach the Gryffindor one. She sat down in the middle of a gap where no people sat on the long bench, intending to talk to nobody. Neville, she was pleased to see, seated himself beside Seamus. Luna would be somewhere on the Ravenclaw table, and Ginny's scowl was enough to keep everyone else at bay.

Ginny did not want to look up at the staff table, but there was no point in delaying the inevitable. Sometime that evening she would find out which teachers had stayed on, who had disappeared, and who had been selected to fill in the gaps. It might as well be now. She turned her head, and for an instant Ginny thought she was going to be sick.

Severus Snape sat in the tall, beautifully carved seat that belonged, in Ginny's mind, to Albus Dumbledore. She knew the chair was used by the current Headmaster or Headmistress of Hogwarts, and she could have tolerated Professor McGonagall there, but the sight of Snape caused her fists to clench. Her churning stomach settled only when the blood flooded her face instead, making her pulse sound loud in her ears.

How could this have happened? Snape had been on the run all summer, hunted for killing the very man in whose chair he now so unconcernedly lounged. He sat back, a small smile playing on his thin lips, his greasy black hair falling to his shoulders, but as she stared, Ginny thought she saw a tightness around his eyes that belied the casual arrogance he otherwise displayed. Well, good. She would undermine this pretender at every opportunity she got, and if he was already unsettled, then all the better.

Beside Snape sat Professor McGonagall, turned away from the students as she spoke to Professor Flitwick on her other side. Up and down the staff table were faces Ginny knew. Professor Sprout, Madam Pomfrey, Professor Slughorn, Hagrid… None of them made her feel much better. None of them could prevent Snape from doing exactly as he wanted to. She had learned that two years ago, when Professor Umbridge had taught at the school.

There were two staff that Ginny did not recognise. Sitting together a few seats away from Snape on the opposite side to Flitwick and McGonagall, they were a man and woman. Both had large, slightly misshapen heads that reminded Ginny vaguely of certain illustrations that she had seen in some of her textbooks. Despite being of perfectly normal size (or if anything a little shorter than most), they reminded Ginny forcefully of giants, more so than Hagrid had ever done. Giants, she knew, were unintelligent and, above all, cruel.


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter Eight**

 _Better the curse you know than the charm you don't._

It seemed to Neville that his grandmother had just spoken in his ear, but he knew she hadn't. He was certain, however, that she would have said the words if she had been with him. But Snape, though… was Snape really better than some Ministry official? It was a moot point, and not worth worrying about. The only thing to do now, Neville reminded himself as he sat down, was to prevent Snape from causing any more harm within Hogwarts.

With Harry, Ron and Dean absent, Neville found a space with Seamus on one side and Nearly Headless Nick on the other. After greeting the ghost politely, he turned to his friend. There had been no opportunity for conversation on the Hogwarts Express after they had expelled the dementors; the rest of the journey had been spent comforting the younger students and ensuring that no more of the horrible creatures remained. Neville was pleased now to talk about the upcoming year.

"So, we're the only ones left in our dorm, and Snape's Headmaster, what do you think to that?" Seamus began, not wasting time on preliminary courtesies.

"Not good," Neville summarised. "We could have managed Snape with Harry and the others. I'm not sure if we can without them, but I'll give it a good go."

"You're not going up against the Ministry?"

"No, I'm not stupid. But I'm not going to sit back and let Snape have his own way. He's going to find things more difficult than he expects. You up for it?"

"What? You mean it? Count me in."

"Great. It's Ginny's idea, mostly. She was always going to do something, she said so on the train, but now it's Snape, she'll never let up. We've got Luna as well." Neville's smile was brief. "But like I said, it's Harry we really need. And Hermione, and even Ron."

"Dean too." Seamus's own smile was sad, and Neville nodded. He didn't have time to answer, though, because silence was descending on the Great Hall. Spreading out from those closest to the staff table, it moved like a living thing until nobody was left speaking. Neville glanced up to see that Snape was on his feet.

"Welcome," Snape said loudly, "To a new year at Hogwarts." Neville had never heard Snape raise his voice; this had never been necessary in lessons, where a smooth whisper was sufficient to hold the students' attention. "The feast will begin shortly. However, as I'm sure you know, we have several matters to attend to first. Allow me to introduce the professors Carrow, who will be teaching Muggle Studies and Defence Against the Dark Arts."

Neville barely suppressed the sceptical noise that threatened to burst out at this, and settled for commenting quietly to Seamus that those two subjects were unlikely to be ones he would choose. There was a little applause, most of this from the Slytherin table, and it died down quickly. Snape waited for silence, supremely confident that it would come, before he spoke again.

"We must also Sort our new students into their houses. If you would be so kind…" Snape looked at Professor McGonagall, who took the hint. She stood, turned, and left the Great Hall through a small door half concealed in the shadows behind the staff table. "Now, whilst we wait, let me make one thing completely clear." Snape's eyes moved from student to student, and lingered on Neville longer than he would have liked. "Professor Dumbledore ran this school in a way which the Ministry of Magic does not approve of. There will be changes, and for your own benefit I advise you not to resist these. Anybody causing trouble will be dealt with most severely. I repeat, for your own benefit, do as you are asked."

Snape had no time to say anything more. The door that Professor McGonagall had disappeared through opened once more. The teacher herself was the second to come through it, preceded by a battered old wizards' hat, perched upon a worn, but highly polished, three-legged stool. Following the teacher came the first year students, a line of timid children who had no idea what the word Hogwarts meant.

The thought of what Hogwarts had been, and what it would be now, was sufficient. The first years who knew nothing of the wizarding world would be excited, and those who had grown up in it would be terrified. Neville had never been brave, but he understood Ginny's determination now; he could not allow Snape to ruin these young lives.

Neville paid little attention to the Sorting, but made an effort to clap whenever a new Gryffindor student was chosen. He did not speak to Seamus; although he very much wanted to, he would be in serious trouble if Snape noticed. There were some battles worth fighting, but this wasn't one of them. Snape, he expected, would make an example of the first student caught disobeying rules, so Neville waited until the new Headmaster had sat down before resuming his conversation.

Once the students had finished eating, Snape dismissed them. Neville walked with Seamus to Gryffindor tower, where they made their way straight to their dormitory. He held up a hand as a warning to Seamus, who bent to unpack without saying anything. Neville too reached into his trunk, but he was looking for something specific. Locating it, he pulled the Secrecy Sensor out and set it on the floor. Unsurprisingly, it was vibrating, indicating that some kind of concealed spell was near. Seamus, seeing this, nodded to let Neville know he understood.

They were being observed. How, Neville did not know, but he thought a spelled object of some kind was the most likely explanation. He didn't know if Snape could see or only hear, but he wasn't taking any chances. Before unpacking, he slid the golden wire back into his trunk.

Neville glanced around the room, but apart from the absence of three of the usual inhabitants, there was nothing out of place. He looked wistfully at Harry's bed, wishing that Harry could come back and set things to rights, but there was no point wishing.

"He wouldn't mind, you know."

Neville knew what Seamus was referring to, and didn't need to give the matter any thought. Seamus was right; Harry would not mind if Neville slept in the bed that had once belonged to the boy with the lightning scar.


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter Nine**

Luna's first lesson of the new school year was Defence Against the Dark Arts. She, Ginny and a dozen of the other sixth year students were already lined up outside the classroom door when Professor Carrow arrived. Something about him made Luna think of a garden gnome, and as she wandered over the threshold, she tried to work out what it was. Maybe the odd shape of his head, or the roundness of his body, or his short, stumpy legs…

She got no further than that. The moment she crossed the threshold, Luna's arms and legs began to jerk and twitch uncontrollably. Ginny, following almost beside her, lost her balance entirely to what Luna recognised as a jelly-legs jinx. A Hufflepuff girl began to bleed dramatically from both nostrils, and a tall Ravenclaw boy received a bat-bogey hex. It seemed that a different curse or hex hit each student, and some other jinx prevented them from seeing what had happened to those who had walked in first.

"Finite Incantatem!" Luna said, taking her wand from behind her ear with an effort, and her legs stopped twitching. Ginny scrambled to her feet, and they chose desks next to each other in the back row. Luna glanced at Ginny, and was not surprised to see that Ginny's cheeks were the same colour as her hair.

"Finite!" Luna said again, more loudly. Ginny joined in this time, and the effects of the spells disappeared instantly, with the exception of the blood on the Hufflepuff girl's robes. Her nose appeared to have stopped spurting, though, so Luna wasn't worried.

"That bat bogey hex wasn't as good as yours are," she said to Ginny, not troubling to keep her voice down. She had expected school to be less pleasant than usual this year, but it really wasn't fair that their new teacher had cursed them before even saying good morning.

Professor Carrow, closing the door behind him, heard. He gave a small smile.

"You are..?" he asked.

"Luna Lovegood," she told him, unconcerned. Her long plait had fallen in front of her shoulders, so she tossed it back to keep it out of the way.

"And your friend?"

"Ginny Weasley." Ginny's voice was tight and the tips of her ears were red now. Luna checked her grip on her wand, ready in case Professor Carrow should attack again.

"Well, Miss Weasley, I'd like you to give us a demonstration of your bat bogey hex."

Luna smiled as Ginny snapped, "Gladly!" and pointed her wand at the teacher.

"Oh no, I don't think so. Hex Miss Lovegood instead."

What had seemed like silence now dropped even quieter. Luna gave a small nod, expecting the spell to come her way.

It did not. Ignoring the last command, Ginny stood, ensuring that her wand was a little closer to her target, and cast the hex. Professor Carrow sat down with a squeak, large chunks of mucus exploding from his nose and covering him from chin to eyebrows.

"I told you she was good," Luna said, pleased at Ginny's expert wand work. It was extremely lucky that Professor Carrow, between reaching for his own wand and making every effort not to gag, did not notice her. He cast the counter-hex, which restored his normal appearance, and focused his attention on Ginny, his watery eyes wide.

Professor Carrow did not speak to Ginny. After a moment of consideration, he turned instead to Luna. "And what hex or curse are you best at?"

"I'm best at charms," Luna told him. She hadn't meant to be rude, and it came to her a moment too late that the words could be interpreted as insolent.

"A charm, then," the teacher said. His chest heaved, and a vein stood out on his temple. "Perform a charm on Miss Weasley."

Luna glanced at Ginny, who blinked in assent. Luna raised her wand and cast a Cheering charm. Ginny grinned lazily, her anger replaced by a general feeling of contentment. Luna knew what it felt like, because she and her friends had practiced the charm on each other before their OWLs. Her pride in a spell well cast lasted only a few seconds; Professor Carrow was clearly frustrated, and it appeared that in his case, frustration led to violence. He slammed his fist down on the desk, visibly bit back something he wanted very much to say, then tried again. "You two. Up here."

Both girls obeyed, Ginny still smiling. Luna wished she could feel that same sense of relaxed happiness, but it wasn't going to happen.

"Wands out," the teacher barked. "On the count of three, duel." His tone brooked no argument, and Luna suspected that if they were to disobey, then Professor Carrow would take them directly to Snape for punishment. She looked Ginny in the eye, and reluctantly spoke the counter-charm in her head. It had been a while since she had used a non-verbal spell, and the effect was not as much as she'd hoped, but Ginny did suddenly look more sober, the smile disappearing from her lips.

Luna held Ginny's gaze, and both girls knew without words that they had no choice but to do as they were told. "No killing, and no maiming. Otherwise, you may use any combative spell you can think of. One, two, three!"

Luna's wand was already raised, and without thinking she shot a jinx at Ginny. The first that came to mind was the one that Professor Carrow had used on her, and Ginny's legs began to dance uncontrollably. Ginny, however, had been faster. Luna was pleased that it wasn't a bat bogey hex, but found herself temporarily unable to perform any kind of spell, because her throat seemed to have seized up to the point that she couldn't speak. This gave Ginny the time to cast a counter-spell to control her legs, but as Ginny then shot a charm at Luna, Luna responded with a non-verbal shield charm. She was quite pleased to have done it, because nobody at school had ever taught her non-verbal spells; they were something that her dad had mentioned, and that Luna had since experimented with.

Still unable to speak, Luna pointed her wand at her textbook and, concentrating hard, performed a basic levitation charm. It wasn't as powerful as it could have been, but it was sufficient to cause the book to fly across the room and hit Ginny in the temple. Ginny crumpled, her red hair flying as she dropped to the floor, and Professor Carrow laughed.


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter Ten**

Ginny remembered nothing of the Defence Against the Dark Arts lesson, but she heard the story so many times during the following free period that she knew exactly what had happened by lunchtime. She was angry, and more than a little upset, but this only made her even more determined to do everything in her power to destroy whatever authority the Ministry had at Hogwarts. She let the anger fuel her, forcing it down only briefly to accept Luna's apology with as much grace as she could manage, then allowing it to surge again as she sat down at the Gryffindor table. Ginny lost track of Luna, who had only appeared for a moment before disappearing to the Ravenclaw table, but did not then begin to pile her plate with food.

As usual, the variety of dishes and quality of the cooking were exceptional. Ginny simply wasn't hungry. It wasn't anything to do with emotion, which usually made her ravenous, so she assumed it was the result of her injury. Ginny sat for a few minutes, thinking hard. She wanted very much to find a way to resurrect the DA, and started by listing all the members she could think of who had remained at Hogwarts. It was a short list, and this didn't make Ginny feel any better. She herself, Luna, Neville, Seamus, the Patil twins, Lavender Brown, several Hufflepuff or Ravenclaw sixth and seventh years and the Creevey brothers… At least half of the original DA had left school.

Ginny spooned something, she wasn't sure what, onto her plate and ate it slowly without noticing anything other than that it was warm. Even if such a small group could accomplish something, how would they co-ordinate it? She would need to investigate the Protean charm; hopefully there would be a way to make her coin, as well as the one belonging to Hermione, contact all the others. First, though, she would need to know who was willing to risk serious punishment in order to inflict maximum disturbance.

This sent Ginny's mind spinning in an entirely new direction. She knew she could trust everyone from the DA; maybe they would help, and if not she was at least certain they would not give her away. But was there anyone else who might want to join?

Recruitment, she thought grimly, would not have been a problem for Harry. The whole school, minus the Slytherins, would have tripped over their own feet to obey his every suggestion. Ginny, on the other hand, did not inspire so much loyalty, at least not from people who barely knew her.

Ginny's first lesson that afternoon was Charms. She sat with Luna in Professor Flitwick's class, whispering under her breath instead of concentrating on the frog in front of her. She was supposed to be giving it stripes, which was far more difficult than a normal colour-change charm. She failed totally; her frog developed pink spots, but nothing that even remotely resembled a stripe. She was, however, feeling much better by the end of the class, because Luna had volunteered to research the Protean charm immediately after the lesson. Ginny, wishing she could stay with Luna, went down to the dungeons for Potions.

Professor Slughorn behaved in a manner suggesting that nothing at all was amiss, and Ginny was comforted by how normal the afternoon had been. As soon as the students were dismissed, however, she threw her things into her bag and raced out of the castle.

Ginny got as far as the Entrance Hall before realising that she did not know where Luna was. If she had been looking for anybody else, Ginny would have tried Gryffindor tower or the library. As this was Luna, however… Well, it would have to wait until dinner. Perhaps this was all for the better; it wouldn't do for Snape or the Carrows to realise that a rebellion was forming.

With no other choice, Ginny made her way slowly up the marble staircase and along the twisting hallway route that led to the Gryffindor common room. Passing through the portrait hole behind the Fat Lady, she glanced around before selecting a chair near the window. There was nobody in the room that she wanted to speak to, so she pulled a textbook out of her bag at random. She had barely remembered the title of the Charms essay she was supposed to be writing when the portrait swung open again to admit Neville and Seamus.

Ginny snapped the book shut, causing several people to look in her direction. Neville walked straight over, Seamus on his heels, and they sunk into the chairs on either side of her.

"It's true, then?" Neville asked.

"What?" Ginny wasn't sure what he was referring to.

"That you hexed the Carrow bloke. And that he made you and Luna duel."

Ginny's head gave an especially powerful throb. "Yes," she said, noticing for the first time that Neville had a cut across his nose, and Seamus' right eyebrow was singed. "What about you?" she hurried on, her aching head forgotten in a fresh wave of anger.

"He hexed or jinxed all of us when we walked through the door," Neville explained, and Ginny nodded that she understood. "Full body bind. I hit my nose when I fell."

"Whatever he did to me backfired," Seamus said.

"How badly does it hurt? I could fix those." Neither injury looked all that serious, and Ginny was fairly sure that one spell or another that she had learned from her mother would set things right for both boys.

"Nah, I'm good," Seamus said, and Ginny remembered that this wasn't his first burn; Seamus was exceptionally adept at setting things on fire without meaning to.

"I'm alright, thanks," Neville agreed. "I want to keep it. A sort of reminder of why we can't let them have their own way."

"Yea, well, I've had an idea about that," Ginny told them, and she summarised her plans.

"You think you can charm those coins so they'll mimic yours?" Neville hadn't grasped the main point.

"Yes, and if I can, then we can start the DA again. Only this time, it won't be for practice."


	11. Chapter 11

**Chapter Eleven**

Over the next week Neville did whatever he could to disrupt the hold Snape and the Ministry had over Hogwarts. He took special pleasure in causing chaos in the now mandatory Muggle Studies classes, and nearly as much in disrupting Defence Against the Dark Arts, the two subjects taught by the Carrow siblings. During Herbology and Charms he kept his head down and worked hard, not wanting to interrupt the genuine learning that still took place under Professor Sprout and Professor Flitwick.

Not for the first time, Neville wished he was a more accomplished wizard. He Vanished any small items the Professors Carrow left on their desks, caused the Carrows' wands to jump away from their owners, filled the Defence classroom full of mist and enlarged one of the torches illuminating Muggle Studies until it threatened to set a stack of parchment on fire, but he did not dare to attack the teachers themselves. It frustrated Neville that he could only use the extremely simple non-verbal spells; he could have done a lot more damage without risking detection if he had been able to cast the rest of his spells without speaking.

Neville kept his resistance within the classroom to begin with. He saw no point in disturbing mealtimes or evenings, and did not have an opportunity to turn his wand on Snape, who only appeared in the Great Hall, surrounded by the rest of the teachers, at dinner. There was also the small matter of his homework, which by Wednesday evening had already grown to an intimidating stack on his bedside table. Knowing he had the following afternoon free to catch up, however, Neville spent several hours that night planning how best to infuriate the female Carrow the following morning.

If the subject now being called Muggle Studies had been an informative series of lessons about how Muggles lived without magic Neville would not have minded attending, and may even have found some of the topics interesting. It was, as he had realised during his first lesson, nothing of the sort. Professor Carrow seemed to harbour a hatred of Muggles; she could not say the word without a twist to her lips suggestive of something foul-tasting, and spent the entire session lecturing on how Muggles were incapable of performing the simplest of daily tasks without demeaning themselves by manual labour. This time, Neville swore to himself, he was not going to sit though such nonsense.

Neville got up and prepared for lessons on Thursday as he usually did. When he left Gryffindor tower, however, he separated from Seamus in the entrance hall. "You go," he said, pointing Seamus towards the Great Hall, and breakfast. "I've got other plans."

"Can you tell me?" Seamus asked.

"Don't want to get you in trouble," Neville said apologetically. "It's better you don't know." Seamus nodded, clapped a hand on Neville's shoulder and turned away. Neville made his way down a small flight of stairs into a dimly lit, cramped corridor. He hurried, not wanting to be seen by an Slytherins who might be coming up from their dungeon common room, until he reached the Potions classroom. Unless he was completely out of luck, he would find what he needed in the students' store cupboard.

Neville had never been an exceptional potion maker. Truthfully, he had been terrible, although at least part of the blame belonged to Professor Snape. He didn't intend to make a potion, however. He hid the ingredients he needed under his robes and, remembering a lesson several years before when he had mixed them together by accident, took care to keep them separated.

Hurrying again to avoid being seen in the underground passage by any Slytherin students, Neville made his way back to the entrance hall. He proceeded up the marble staircase and along several corridors until he arrived at the Muggle Studies classroom. A whispered "Alohamora!" and the lock on the door clicked open; Neville slipped inside. He tipped the ingredients in the bottom drawer of Professor Carrow's desk, not caring that they were now all in one big liquid mess, and ran from the room. He closed the door behind him, and returned to the Great Hall in time to grab a piece of toast.

The entire seventh year, or those seventh year students who still remained at Hogwarts, lined up for their Muggle Studies lesson outside the classroom. A group of Slytherins headed the queue, joking and swaggering; Neville ignored them. He had rarely seen students from that house so eager for lessons, and until now it had always promised disaster. This time, Neville knew he would have the last laugh.

As their teacher approached the students quietened down a little but carried on their conversations. Neville spoke to Seamus without really concentrating, waiting for the moment when Professor Carrow opened the door. He wasn't sure now that his idea had been at all sensible, and as Professor Carrow stretched her stubby fingers towards the door handle he wished he had not done it.

It was too late to back out now. Hoping nobody would hear, or at least that nobody would give him away, Neville lowered his voice. "Be ready to cast a bubble-head charm," he said, and tightened his grip on his wand. Seamus nodded understanding – there had been a time in their fifth year when it was almost impossible to walk along a corridor without first performing the charm.

Professor Carrow wrenched the door open. She had time to turn and open her mouth, presumably to tell the students to enter the classroom, before she dropped to her knees, gagging and choking. The fumes she had inadvertently released were not poisonous, but the smell was the worst Neville had ever come across, a mixture of sulphur, rotten fish and flaxweed. He and Seamus reacted in time, as did several students further away from the door, but the Slytherins weren't fast enough. Neville watched for a moment from inside the protective bubble of fresh air around his head as they crawled away, green-cheeked and coughing, then cast the bubble-head charm on a Hufflepuff who had also been trapped. The entire class backed away from the classroom, and Neville restrained a smile.


	12. Chapter 12

**Chapter Twelve**

Madam Pince, the librarian, was used to Luna's habit of borrowing books completely unrelated to her homework. Luna liked to explore and experiment, something she had picked up from her mother, and frequently researched unusual topics. It was this history that meant that Luna was able to obtain a battered copy of Charms Most Obscure without the usually disagreeable woman turning a hair. Luna glanced through the small volume under the shelves, double-checking that it held the information she wanted, before retreating to the Ravenclaw common room.

It was completely normal for these, the most intellectual of Hogwarts' students, to spend some of their spare time reading, and anyone who knew Luna expected it of her. Nobody disturbed her when, over the course of their first week at school, she went over everything the odd little book had to say on the Protean charm at least five times. On Wednesday she started practicing, and on Friday afternoon, following her Care of Magical Creatures lesson, Luna eventually succeeded.

Luna did not charm coins, as Hermione had done. Instead she charmed quills, and once she had finished, each quill mimicked hers. She kept this quill in her school bag, separate from the ones she used in lessons, and put the quills bonded to it in her trunk. They would grow warm when she used her quill, at which time all their owners had to do was place them tip-first on a piece of parchment and they would replicate everything she wrote. As an added precaution, she thought, she would ask people to use Fading Ink, or to burn their messages after reading them.

Several hours later, with a handful of the charmed quills now in her pocket, Luna made her way down to the Great Hall for dinner, humming under her breath and fiddling unconsciously with the dirigible plums hanging from her ears. She hoped very much that Ginny would like her idea. The two girls had not had much chance to talk to each other in lessons, and almost no time alone when they could be certain nobody could overhear them, so Luna had not been able to give more than the most vague updates on what she had managed to achieve.

As usual, the Great Hall was crowded. This gave Luna the opportunity to slip into the space next to Ginny for a few minutes, but she did not dare to stay long. In barely more than a whisper, she explained what she had done. "So here's the master quill," Luna finished, handing it over. "And these are all bonded to it, so pass these to anyone you think is safe. Shall I do the Ravenclaw DA people?"

"You're amazing," Ginny said, closing her eyes for a moment and slumping in her seat. Luna felt her cheeks tugging upwards in a wide smile; it was an unusual for someone to speak to her in that way, and she decided she liked it a lot. "And yes, please. Only the DA, mind, and make sure they want to do it. This is dangerous. We don't need anybody sneaking this time." Ginny's expression told Luna exactly what her opinion of such people was, and Luna had to admit that Ginny was right. The jolt of annoyance she felt was nothing to the pleasure of hearing Ginny's praise, so she brushed it off.

"Of course," Luna said. The corners of her mouth were aching now, but she could not stop smiling. She remembered all too well what it felt like to have no friends, and now she had five. Five good friends, and many more people who seemed to like her, or to enjoy her company. For that moment, Luna was happy.

September days at Hogwarts varied from bright and warm, suitable for sitting in the grounds, to overcast with lashing rain and strong winds. The weekend brought the first rain of the school year, so Luna returned to the Ravenclaw common room after breakfast. It would be full of students all morning, most doing homework but a few doing almost anything they could to delay the inevitable necessity of starting their essays. The only other place to work was the library, and although some Ravenclaws preferred to go there instead, there weren't enough desks to allow everyone to sit down and write comfortably.

Luna spotted the few sixth and seventh year students she needed to speak to and, one at a time, quietly took them aside. They all accepted their quills with enthusiasm, promised to keep them close and swore to tell nobody what they were planning to do. Pleased with the morning's work, she settled down to write a Care of Magical Creatures essay and missed dinner when she lost track of the time.

It wasn't until Sunday morning that Luna next met Ginny. Pure luck saw them reach the bottom of the marble staircase at the same time, and they stopped in the Entrance Hall. "I passed out the quills," Luna said. She knew this topic was more important to Ginny than anything else at the moment, and hurried on, her own thoughts momentarily forgotten. "Everyone from the DA last time wanted one. They all swore not to tell what we're doing. I couldn't make them sign an enchanted list like Hermione did before, but I believe them. I don't think anyone else heard."

"All of the Gryffindors from last time are in, too," Ginny said, her eyes bright. "I want us all to meet this afternoon, if I can just pass a few quills to someone in Hufflepuff now."

"Where?" Luna asked, interested.

"I'm sure I can open the Room of Requirement." Ginny shrugged off the complication. "And if not, we don't really need meetings. Just instructions. Meetings would be better, but we'll have to see what we can manage. I'll send you a time, anyway." She started purposefully towards the doors to the Great Hall, and Luna followed. She was lost in thought within seconds, distracted by wondering how to obtain an army of heliopaths, and did not notice what she ate for breakfast.


	13. Chapter 13

**Chapter Thirteen**

Ginny's appetite had completely disappeared since she'd been knocked out, but she nibbled on some toast simply because she knew she had to eat. She chewed and swallowed mechanically, her mind racing. Luna had gone far beyond what Ginny had expected, and multiple ways to use the enchanted quills chased each other through her thoughts. She quickly solved the problem of how to include the Hufflepuff students – Neville could speak to the seventh-years during their Herbology class on Tuesday – and concentrated instead on dreaming up different kinds of trouble she could cause.

There were some benefits to having brothers such as Fred and George. Although products from their joke shop were banned at Hogwarts, no rules could separate Ginny from the knowledge she had gained from living with the twins. It also helped that most of the merchandise from Weasley's Wizard Wheezes could be smuggled into the school in disguise, but that was, in her opinion, only an added bonus.

Ginny put most of her ideas aside, and glanced up and down the table. It was not crowded at this time on a Sunday morning, but there were still too many pairs of eyes for comfort. Scowling, she returned to Gryffindor Tower, held up for a moment by Peeves the poltergeist, who tried to set fire to her robes, and settled down in an armchair by the hearth.

Peeves' appearance had given Ginny another thought, but she dismissed it almost at once. He would never again, she knew, take orders from a student the way he had obeyed the twins two years before. If she phrased it the right way, though…

Putting everything else out of her mind, Ginny took the charmed quill from her bag and hunted for a roll of parchment. She dipped the quill in her ink bottle then paused, tip hovering above the paper, before writing.

 _"Two o'clock, you know where to be."_ Ginny read what she had written, then tossed the parchment into the fire. It was not necessary for her to keep this copy; the remainder of the charmed quills had been primed to repeat the message from the moment Ginny had written it.

A wave of apprehension surged through Ginny as she remembered the day that their DA meetings had been betrayed. She didn't think anybody would do the same this time, but it was difficult to be certain and impossible to take back the message she had just written. Feeling as if she had just jumped off a cliff without knowing how deep the water was below, she swapped quills and tried to concentrate on the Charms essay that Professor Flitwick wanted her to hand in the following day.

Ginny could barely manage a little soup at lunchtime. Before she had simply not been hungry; now the thought of food made her stomach contract. She sat under the stormy ceiling, playing with her spoon, until after one o'clock, then returned to Gryffindor Tower. She didn't know what to take to the meeting, and eventually settled for having just her wand, tucked in her back pocket, simply because she didn't dare leave it behind.

In an attempt to arrive early, Ginny set off for the Room of Requirement almost as soon as she had dropped off her bag. She wanted to open the Room without a crowd of people watching, and she wanted a chance to look around it without interruption. It was almost certain to be different to how it had appeared previously, because her need for it was different to what Harry's had been.

Ginny quickly found the tapestry she was looking for, and with barely a glance towards the trolls in tutus, she closed her eyes. Three times she walked up and down the corridor, repeating the same words over and over again in her head, her lips moving soundlessly. "I need a place to plan resistance against Snape. I need a place to plan resistance against Snape."

After the third pass, Ginny opened her eyes. Her breath, caught in her throat, escaped with a sound of relief. A door, small and made of highly polished wood so dark as to appear black, had appeared directly opposite the tapestry. She grasped the shining gold handle, pushed the door open and stepped over the threshold.

With a snap, the door closed behind Ginny. She hoped that it was invisible from the outside, but did not worry too much; she was sure it would be, and had been sure since before it had closed itself.

The Room of Requirement was rectangular today, and lit by torches in brackets in a similar manner to the rest of the school. The walls, floor and ceiling were stone, as in other parts of the castle; there were no obvious signs that this was a magical room that she had brought into being for a specific purpose. A circle of chairs, wooden like those in the classrooms, took up most of the space, but there were no desks; there would be no need of them at this meeting.

A table in the centre of the circle held half a dozen books. Ginny thought for a moment, and they were joined by parchment, quills and ink. A single desk appeared in front of the largest chair, and she settled down to wait for her friends, wondering what else she should add.

One thing only frustrated Ginny. There was no food or drink anywhere to be found. She suspected that the refreshments might be missed, but there was nothing she could do about it now. If they weren't there when she was concentrating on them, then they wouldn't appear. There must be a reason for it, but Ginny couldn't remember what it was.

A few more minutes' work, and tapestries covered large parts of the previously bare walls. They served no purpose other than to remind Ginny of why she was there, and it was this that dictated their subjects. The smiling face of Albus Dumbledore, large as life, hung opposite the doorway, and the castle grounds, bathed in summer sunlight, took up most of another wall. Harry, so small as to be barely visible, rode his Firebolt through this scene; Ginny hoped that nobody else would notice this.

Ginny was still thinking about how best to decorate the remaining two walls when the first knock sounded at the door.


	14. Chapter 14

**Chapter Fourteen**

Neville didn't wait for an invitation before entering the Room of Requirement. He did not dare to hang around any longer than necessary in the corridor now the dark door was ready to be opened, and therefore visible. There were students, mostly Slytherins, who supported Snape's regime and would go running the moment they saw Neville on the seventh floor.

The door opened noiselessly and shut quickly. Neville glanced around, took in the chairs, table and tapestries, then sat down next to Ginny. "Good work," he told her.

"Thanks," Ginny replied, and for the first time all week she gave what appeared to be a genuine smile. "I don't know what else to add, now. What else we might need."

"Can I suggest something?" Neville asked. It was possible that Ginny would like his idea, but equally as possible that she might jinx him when she heard it, and he waited uncertainly for her nod before continuing. "That bare wall? Could you put some Wanted posters there? Snape and the Carrows? Umbridge, even? And whatever Death Eaters you can think of?"

Ginny's eyes narrowed, but it was in concentration, not anger; Neville let out a small sigh of relief. A moment later the posters appeared, almost exactly as Neville had imagined them himself. There were only three, the first three he had named, but he was pleased that Ginny had appreciated his input. "I think we should stick with these for now," Ginny told him. "Let's sort the school before the Minstry."

Neville couldn't tell if Ginny was being completely serious or not. All their talk so far had been about Hogwarts; it dawned on him now that Ginny's ambitions might eventually be bigger than that. He didn't comment, and leaned forward to pick up some of the books. "Useful spells?" he asked.

"Don't know," Ginny told him. "I've not looked yet. What else could we use?"

Neville did his best, but couldn't add anything to what was already in the room. "Are we only going to be planning in here? We have everything we need for that. What sort of protection do we have?"

"The room seals itself," Ginny confirmed. "You didn't see the door, did you? It wasn't still open?"

"No," Neville reassured her. He wanted to sound unconcerned, but every word he had spoken since arriving had been a little higher pitched than usual; even to his own ears, he sounded nervous. Ginny, on the contrary, was flushed with excitement. "This is going to be dangerous," he said quietly.

"Then we'd best not get caught," Ginny told him.

Neville and Ginny talked for several more minutes, then the door opened again. They didn't notice until it shut, and by the time Luna had sat down on Ginny's other side, Ginny had created a small bell so they would know when anybody entered the corridor beyond. Neville greeted Luna with a smile, but did not enter into conversation. He never seemed to understand half of what she said, and the other half made little more sense.

All the same, Neville was pleased to have Luna with them. She was brave, good with a wand and smart, when she focused on reality; he would cope with any amount of unusual behaviour to have someone with those qualities on his side. He sat listening to the two girls talking until the little silver bell rang.

After that people started arriving regularly, most alone but a few in pairs or small groups. Seamus seated himself next to Neville, and the remaining chairs filled up steadily until there were none left.

"We're not expecting anybody else today," Ginny said loudly, and the buzz of chatter died down. "I wasn't able to contact the Hufflepuffs yet, but several will be joining us soon, I hope. Now, shall we get started?"

It was Ginny who organised the meeting, first giving her own views then asking everybody else, one by one, to comment. It had been a long time since Neville had seen so many students pay such close attention to anyone except Professor McGonagall, and he was pleased to see that Ginny was so well respected. She was, after all, one of the few in the room who had actually fought against Death Eaters more than once, and on top of that, she was Harry Potter's ex-girlfriend.

Neville was more than happy to listen, and didn't have any fresh ideas to add when at last it was his turn to speak. Other people had already put forward the few suggestions that he'd had, but Neville didn't mind. His part, he already knew, was in leading the resistance on the ground, not in planning. He'd never been a brilliant thinker, but by virtue of being a seventh year, the other students would follow his orders when it came time to act.

"I think we should hold another meeting with the Hufflepuffs, then I'll let everyone know what plan to use when by using the quills. Are we happy with that?" Ginny asked, and along with everyone else, Neville gave his agreement. "Then as well as whatever we have planned, it would be great if you could disrupt Muggle Studies and Defence lessons. Keep safe, don't let the Carrows know who to blame. Keep it small and be smart, we don't want them making an example of anyone."

Neville remained seated when Ginny dismissed the meeting, allowing the students to leave in small groups. Eventually only himself, Ginny and Luna were left. "Accio," Neville said, pointing his wand at the table, which slid towards him. They each took a book and thumbed through it. The first Neville investigated was a text on obscure spells, some of which might be useful, the second was the personal diary of the witch who had led the American revolution. There might be some lessons to be learned from it, and Neville tucked it inside his pocket.

"Great work," he told Ginny. "Are we going to get started today?"

"Soon," Ginny replied. "I'm sorry to give you so much responsibility, but I can't do everything myself."

"No problem," Neville said, swallowing before he spoke.

"I'll do whatever you need," Luna told Ginny, and received a smile in return.

"I never thought it would be us," Neville said. "You know, leading. I guess I thought it would always be Harry. Him, Ron and Hermione."

"I miss them too." Ginny rested her hand on his for a moment before striding away towards the door.


	15. Chapter 15

**Chapter Fifteen**

Luna spent the first part of Monday morning bored; it was only when she arrived at the double Defence lesson that she started to pay any attention to what was going on around her. She was determined not to give Professor Carrow any reason to hex, jinx, curse or punish her, or at least she was determined not to let the teacher know of any reason to take these actions. She and Ginny seated themselves at opposite ends of the back row, Ginny having earlier suggested that the Carrows should see no further allegiance between them, and the lesson began.

Professor Carrow called the students up to the front of his class one by one, where he attempted to shatter their Shield charms with a series of nasty little spells. As soon as Luna realised his intention, she took out her wand. Holding it under her desk, she pointed it at the student being tested and silently cast a second shield, in the hope that at least one of the two would hold. She repeated this with each student, even the two Sytherins, because she knew it would infuriate their teacher if he was unable to curse anybody, and did not think about what would happen when her own turn came.

"Lovegood!" The summons was little less than a shout, and Luna stood up. She walked slowly to the front of the room, wishing that Ginny had mastered non-verbal spells.

It was unfortunate, Luna thought, that she and Ginny had not started to properly disrupt the class. Luna found it difficult not to glance over at Ginny's flaming hair and blazing eyes, and concentrated hard on Professor Carrow's furious eyes instead. Maybe, if she timed it right, her Shield charm would be sufficient.

It was Peeves who saved Luna. Cackling madly, the poltergeist shot through the classroom door, singing a crude song at the top of his lungs, and zoomed straight to the front of the classroom. Where he had found a bucket of foul-smelling slop, Luna didn't know, but as he emptied it over Professor Carrow's head, she didn't care.

The teacher swelled up like a beetroot under an engorgement charm. He span to face Peeves, wand at the ready, but the poltergeist had already moved. The spell that should have rendered him immobile shot out of the window, where it tumbled a small bird from the top of an oak tree. Professor Carrow seemed not to notice. He gave a roar of fury and chased Peeves out of the door, shooting spells every few seconds but missing each time. His footsteps, and exclamations of anger, faded away in moments.

Luna stowed her wand behind her ear and returned to her seat. "I'm going to find that bird," she said quietly as she slipped past Ginny, speaking quietly. With only ten minutes left until the end of the lesson, it was unlikely that their teacher would return; she did not know what anybody else planned to do, but she would not spend that time sat at a desk.

Unsurprisingly, Ginny wasted no time in responding. She pointed her wand at one of the two Slytherins in the class, then the other, whispering as she did so. The girl immediately broke out in boils, and the boy sprouted broccoli from both nostrils. Both gave rather satisfying noises of pain and fear before snatching up their bags. The rest of the class burst into laughter, amused at the downfall of the two students who had clearly enjoyed watching their companions being attacked. Luna waited until the pair had left for the hospital wing before packing her things and walking out.

Luna hurried along the corridor and out of the open front doors. Hugging the edge of the castle, she made her way to the small patch of trees outside the window of the Defence classroom. Sure enough, there was a small shape lying hidden among the first of the fallen leaves.

The bird was a robin. At first Luna didn't see it, camouflaged so well among the reds and browns of the foliage, but she crouched down as soon as she found the tiny figure and stretched a finger out towards it. As she expected, the robin was completely motionless, and she realised that this made her quite sad. Birds should flutter their wings, leap from branch to branch, hop along the ground… she should be able to feel a heartbeat.

She could feel a heartbeat. As Luna slid her hand underneath the bird and closed her fingers gently around its weightless form, she felt a rapid pulsing that let her know instantly that the bird was still alive. Unable to resist, she held the robin for a moment and stroked the soft feathers, smiling to herself. The small creature was going to recover.

Luna put the robin gently back onto the leaves and retrieved her wand from behind her ear. Unsure of the specific counter-curse, and making a mental note to ask Ginny or Neville, she settled instead for the more general, "Finite!" To her relief, the spell worked. The robin's wings moved too fast for her to follow as it flew up to the highest branches, where she lost sight of the bright red and gleaming brown figure.

It was a victory. A small one, and not one that Snape or Professor Carrow would ever know about, but a victory nonetheless. One tiny creature saved from the cruelty of the new regime, and two Slytherin students in the hospital wing with minor injuries that would be quickly neutralised by Madam Pomfrey. It had been, Luna decided, a good morning.

Without realising what she was doing, Luna hummed as she meandered back along the edge of the castle and through the oak front doors. Defeating the series of nasty spells Professor Carrow had used on his students had been satisfying, but rescuing the robin was even more so. She skipped across the entrance hall and dashed towards the marble staircase, heading for Ravenclaw tower. She had a free period next, and planned to spend it doing all she could to continue resisting Snape's regime.


	16. Chapter 16

**Chapter Sixteen**

Ginny waited for Luna at the bottom of the marble staircase, knowing that anybody entering the school building from the grounds would have to pass this way. Neither girl had lessons now until the afternoon, and Ginny wanted to spend the free time in the most productive manner possible. This did not, in her opinion, involve going to the Gryffindor common room to do her homework.

When at last Luna came skipping through the front doors, Ginny half raised a hand in greeting, unable to raise a smile. Seeing this, Luna hurried forwards. "It's not me you're annoyed with, is it?" Luna asked. "I thought this was all worth taking a few risks?"

Ginny did her best to remove the scowl from her face. "You were great, it's not you," she said. "It's those limp-wand Carrows. I want another DA meeting, tomorrow evening. Can't be any sooner if we want the Hufflepuffs as well."

Luna nodded, ignoring the profanity. "I was just going to sit and think," she said.

"Me too," Ginny told her. "We need to do something bigger. More than just a little inconvenience. Something that shows them we mean business."

For the rest of the morning Ginny sat in a chair by the fire, a half-drafted essay on her lap, thinking. She wanted to do more, as she'd said, than just annoy the Carrows and Snape, but she didn't want anybody getting caught and punished because of something she'd planned. She didn't know how severe the repercussions or harsh Snape's regime would ultimately be, and it wasn't until the following morning that she began to understand this.

Ginny turned up for her Muggle Studies class on time, not wishing to draw attention to herself by being late. She had plans, and they didn't involve having her teacher keeping a close watch on everything she was doing. Luna was already waiting, humming to herself in an alcove a short way away from the classroom door; Ginny didn't speak to her; it would be better if the Carrows thought the two girls had no particular allegiance. The remainder of the sixth year Ravenclaws, all of the Hufflepuffs and every last Slytherin student crowded the corridor. Ginny herself had walked down with the Gryffindor girls, so it was only the boys from her own house who were not present for the mandatory lesson.

The boys had not arrived by the time the female Carrow opened the classroom door and beckoned. The Slytherins entered first and lounged in the front rows of seats, displaying an enthusiasm they never showed for other subjects. The rest of the class filed in; Professor Carrow pointed her wand at the door, which snapped shut with a thud.

"You may be wondering why we are a few students short," the teacher said, and from the wide smile on her protruding lips Ginny knew the reason could be nothing good. "We have, it seems, been harbouring a muggle in our midst," Professor Carrow went on. "He, and the others from his dormitory, will at this moment be in Professor Snape's office. Creevey will, of course, be expelled, his brother too, and the others interrogated. This brings us onto our topic for today, the muggle justice system and the various punishments they have used over the years."

There was nothing Ginny could do. She sat fuming silently for half an hour before remembering that she had a trick up her sleeve, almost literally. The necessary item was in fact in her bag; whilst her teacher was occupied shouting at a Ravenclaw who had dared to ask an intelligent question, Ginny grabbed the Fainting Fancy in one quick move and bit off one half. Moments after swallowing, her head sank to the desk.

Ginny had been sure that whoever offered to escort her to Madam Pomfrey would know what she had done; Fred and George's trick sweets had been widely used two years before in Professor Umbridge's classes. She was unsurprised, therefore, when she awoke not in the hospital wing but the girls' bathrooms on the fifth floor, a spare towel pillowing her head. Feeling as if she'd had no more than a normal sleep, she hurried to Gryffindor Tower, through the portrait of the Fat Lady and across the common room.

Safe in her dormitory, Ginny pulled out her enchanted quill. As much as she wanted to storm into Snape's office and demand he release the sixth year boys, she knew it would come to no good end. Instead she considered a moment, then began to write.

 _Same place as usual,_ Ginny put, _As soon as you're out of morning lessons. Disturbing news._

This written, Ginny put the quill away. She destroyed the incriminating scrap of parchment simply by throwing it in the common room fire on her way back downstairs. As soon as it had caught light she made her way swiftly out of the portrait hole and to the nearest staircase. She went down several flights, along a corridor and up a different staircase, until she reached the seventh floor. She was breathing hard as she reached the tapestry, but from anger rather than exertion. A moment later the door to the Room of Requirement came into being, and she slipped inside.

Ginny found the Room much as it had been on her previous visit, save that it was slightly larger with more chairs. She dropped into one of these, thinking. She'd intended to call a meeting to discuss recruitment of any other students who might want to be involved in the resistance against Snape, and to again put forward ways of doing this. It seemed that their first task of significance had come much sooner than she expected, however; rather than continuing to disrupt lessons, the DA would have to ensure that no harm came to the Creevey brothers.

Waiting was almost unbearable. Luna was, of course, still in the Muggle Studies lesson, and Neville would be in Herbology, handing out the quills to the other Hufflepuffs. Most of the other students would also be in one class or another.

Ginny waited alone for what seemed to be the entire morning, pacing up and down, glancing at the door with every other step.


	17. Chapter 17

**Chapter Seventeen**

Neville managed to pass enchanted quills to Hannah Abbot, Ernie Macmillan, Susan Bones and Justin Finch-Fletchley without difficulty. It seemed that half the people currently working in Greenhouse Five now possessed one, but this wasn't enough. The DA needed to recruit, and swiftly. He put this thought from his mind; Herbology was the one subject that Neville excelled in, and he didn't wish to cause either himself or Professor Sprout any inconvenience.

At the end of the class Neville rinsed his muddy hands in the water barrel and dried them on his robes, then placed everything he had taken out of his schoolbag back into it. He allowed his hand to brush against the enchanted quill, as he did multiple times a day, and jumped a little in surprise. It wasn't just warm, it was almost painfully hot. The message was recent; the quills he had passed out earlier had been quite cool. Hurrying outside, he headed for the shelter of a nearby tree, pausing only to glance significantly at a few other people on the way. Taking his hint, they all followed.

Clustered around a piece of scrap parchment on the far side of the tree, partly hidden behind its thick trunk, the seventh years read Ginny's message. "I'm going now," Neville said. "I've got a free period and I bet Ginny's there already." A few moments of talk followed this, leading to the conclusion that most of the group was also free, whilst one or two had a Potions class.

"Slughorn…" Ernie said, clearly trying to decide if it was worth missing the class.

"Go," Neville advised. "Don't do anything different to usual. Ginny and Luna are free, and the rest of us. If we need to do anything, we can make a start and you can join us. We'll see you in just over an hour."

"It sounds like an emergency," Ernie protested.

"Ginny didn't say come now, or as soon as we could," Neville pointed out, ignoring the feeling that perhaps Ernie was right, and Ernie conceded this. The group marched up to the castle together then split into two, most up the marble staircase, a few down into the dungeons.

Neville led the way to the Room of Requirement, tapped on the door and opened it without waiting for a response. Ginny was there, pacing up and down, along with Luna and several other sixth and seventh year students who were all sitting down, fidgeting as they waited.

"We're not getting anyone else now, are we?" Ginny asked. "They're at lessons? Some of my year are."

"I think this is it," Neville agreed, but before Ginny could reply, the door burst open again. Everyone seated leaped off their chairs, and wands were raised for a heartbeat before their owners realised who the newcomers were.

Three Gryffindor sixth year boys entered, one after the other, followed by four younger boys; there was no sign of Colin or Dennis Creevey. All seven boys bore obvious burns, cuts, bruises and other marks that could only have been made during a magical altercation.

"Snape expelled them, he sent them home by Floo powder," one of the younger boys said, and Neville understood immediately what had happened.

Not everyone was as quick on the uptake as Neville, for a wonder, and Ginny had to shoot sparks into the ceiling to restore order in the resultant confusion. "Carrow told us that the Creevey brothers were muggles," she said into the sudden quiet. "It's a load of dragon dung, but it's her excuse. What happened?" she asked. "She said Snape had taken all of you for questioning. Did you actually see them leave, and hear where they were going?"

Neville listened without interrupting, as did everyone else. Snape, it seemed, had talked his way past the Fat Lady some time early that morning. Alone, he had used spells the boys had never seen before to subdue the two dormitories without making enough noise to wake everyone else. Under threat they had walked quietly to Snape's office, knowing that to do otherwise would only lead to repercussions for anyone who heard and tried to help.

"Colin told Snape he'd said to everyone his parents were photographers, and kept secret they were muggles," one boy explained, dabbing at a cut on his forehead with a tissue. "He always has that stupid camera with him. We said it was true, we thought they were wizard photographers, and after a lot of questions Snape let us go."

"You couldn't have done anything to help," Ginny said, and Neville nodded.

"It sounds like Colin knew he was leaving, and wanted to keep you out of trouble," Neville agreed. "Did you hear him and Dennis say where they were going? When they used the Floo powder?"

"It was a small village, in Lincolnshire," one of the younger boys piped up. "It was where Dennis always addresses his letters to. I think they're at home." He was pale, and his voice shook.

"If they're at home, they're safer than they would be here," Ginny told him firmly.

"We need to do something," the boy whispered, and one of his friends clapped him on the back in agreement.

Neville glanced at Ginny and Luna, but it wasn't necessary. The three were in complete agreement, and he let Ginny speak. "We are doing something," she told him. "Us here, and a few more who are in lessons at the moment. Do you want to join us? It would be dangerous, and you mustn't tell anyone about it. I'm serious, you can't tell anybody, no matter what."

"I swear I won't tell," the boy said, and his friends nodded. Of the seven boys, only two had been members of Dumbledore's Army previously; the remaining five accepted quills from Ginny with thanks. She explained quickly how they worked.

"And the last thing," she said, "I want you to tell anyone who asks exactly what happened to Colin and Dennis. I know it's difficult, but we need the whole school to know. No more invitations to join the DA, I'll handle that myself, but we need everyone to be in the right mood to join when I do ask."

Neville knew, then, that Ginny had no intention of keeping the DA hidden forever.


	18. Chapter 18

**Chapter Eighteen**

Luna was a little disappointed. She had been looking forward to her first real DA mission of the year; it would have felt good to rescue the boys from Snape's office and to tell the Headmaster that it was unfair to treat them as he had done. On reflection, though, she knew Ginny was right that the Creevey brothers would be safer at home than anywhere near Hogwarts.

It was still good fun, once the last members of the DA finally arrived in the Room of Requirement, to plot ways to annoy Snape, especially because a group of seventh years had unexpectedly had the forethought to stop at the Great Hall on their way past from their Potions lesson. Neville pulled out his wand and Multiplied the sandwiches they had taken, allowing the group to eat as they talked.

Near the end of lunchtime Ginny allowed the students to leave the Room in pairs or small groups, until at last only three remained; Ginny, Neville and Luna herself. All three had free periods that afternoon and, despite the mountains of homework awaiting their return, they remained where they were.

"It's all very good, isn't it?" Luna asked, "But I still think we need to do something more, something bigger."

"It needs to be just us, if it's going to be more than little disturbances," Neville said, "Or at least we need to be careful."

"We all know it's dangerous," Luna said. "It's not just for practice any more, is it?"

"I'm worried about what would happen if we're caught," Ginny said. "Without us, and without the quills, this whole thing would just fall apart."

"Then we need to make it everybody, stop keeping it secret, and Snape won't know who to blame," Luna said. "Make it too much for him to handle."

"He'll be able to guess," Ginny disagreed, but without heat. She sat quietly for a moment, and Luna had the idea that she was thinking hard.

"Keep the DA secret like it is, and use the members to give instructions to everyone else, then," Luna suggested. "We can put stuff on the common room notice boards if we want everyone to do it, and if it's more secret or doesn't need many people then we do it with just the DA, or just the three of us."

"That's not a bad idea," Ginny admitted.

"I always knew this was serious," Luna said, "But it feels even more like it now, doesn't it?" She tried to image what it would be like to be expelled from Hogwarts, to be sent home for reasons beyond her control, and realised that the Creevey brothers must be feeling sad. "We should write them a message," she said. "Saying we hope they're safe, and we're thinking about them."

Both Ginny and Neville nodded. Ginny pulled out her enchanted quill and, a few minutes later, Luna took her own out of her schoolbag, placing it tip-first on a spare bit of parchment. _Colin, Dennis,_ the message read, _We miss you, and hope you're safe. Snape let your friends go. They are all okay and with us now. Take a subscription to the Quibbler if you can, and ignore the Daily Prophet. Keep your quills near and your wands at the ready._

Luna read this with a smile. "It's very good," she said. "I like what you said about Dad's magazine."

"Well, they'll get more information from it than they will from the Prophet," Ginny said, and Luna knew this was true.

The trio spent their entire afternoon planning, then went down to dinner. Luna separated from the Gryffindors and took a place at the Ravenclaw table between a third year girl on one side and a first year boy on the other. "Did you hear what happened this morning?" she asked, without bothering with any form of greeting. "Snape expelled two muggle-born boys and hurt their friends too."

The younger students, and the friends they had been talking to only moments before, listened as Luna explained. They were a good audience, with eyes wide and hands balancing forks, forgotten, halfway to their mouths. Nobody interrupted, and Luna finished describing the injuries she'd seen.

"It's not right, and I'm not going to let him do things like that," Luna finished, taking care not to hint that there was anybody else with her or suggest any form of organisation to the resistance. She spooned a portion of lasagne onto her plate and took a few bites. "Tell everyone you can about it," she asked. "We need the whole school to know what Snape's like."

From there Luna stood up. She slung her bag onto her shoulder, picked up her plate and moved down the long bench until she found another free space. Again she took this, and again she told the story. The fourth and fifth years she spoke to expressed outrage, and a desire to do something useful; Luna also repeated what she'd said to the first group of listeners about passing the story on as widely as possible.

"Burn me at the stake," one boy muttered. Luna smiled briefly, not at the profanity itself but at the emotions it expressed. This mood was exactly what Ginny wanted, exactly what was needed.

Feeling it would be noticed if she was to continue moving up and down the Ravenclaw table much more, Luna settled into a place between three of the girls in her dorm on one side and a pair of seventh year boys from the DA on the other. She said nothing, but ate her way steadily through her lasagne, humming occasionally.

What had happened that day would undoubtedly be sad for the two boys involved, but it might be the catalyst needed to provoke the students into action. Only a few hours before, the DA had numbered just a handful; over the following few hours Luna expected this to change.

Luna knew that it wouldn't be safe to include the entirety of the Gryffindor, Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff students in the DA, or to give them the access provided by the enchanted quills, but now those in that trusted position could lead their friends and classmates in the rebellion.


	19. Chapter 19

**Chapter Nineteen**

For the remainder of the week Ginny made an effort to be more sociable than usual. On a normal day she would speak to the girls in her dorm, greet members of the DA or her classes and occasionally smile or nod if she met somebody she otherwise knew passing along a corridor; now she attempted to chat to anyone and everyone. During mealtimes she made small talk, and in the common room she addressed those sitting near her. The purpose of these slightly forced conversations was the same every time, although she went about getting to the point in a manner dependant on her audience.

Ginny intended to incite a revolt by any means necessary, and to that end she spread the story of the Creeveys' misfortune far and wide. Not once did she express strong emotion, but whenever someone appeared to be upset or angry she encouraged this whilst attempting to appear nothing but sympathetic. Often it was difficult to find a way to lead the discussion towards what she wanted to talk about, but she did her best.

This type of manipulation was unnatural to Ginny, and she endured it as best as she could. A little deception, usually in some way concerning her brothers or her parents, was nothing new, but this was something different. At first she was unsure how successful she was being, but by Wednesday the entire school was talking of nothing but the expulsion of the two boys. Nobody but the Slytherin students seemed to find anything positive to say, yet they were as vocal as the remaining three Houses together.

Ginny ignored this as best as she could, but it wasn't always easy. On Wednesday afternoon Ginny entered her Muggle Studies lesson having already endured Defence Against the Dark Arts, during which time Professor Carrow had taken great delight in making his students drink potions with unpleasant effects. Now, when his sister called the full classroom to order, one of the Slytherin boys raised his hand.

The boy spoke when Carrow gave him a nod. "I don't think we congratulated you yesterday," he began, "For identifying and expelling the muggles. We're very impressed, Miss."

"Why, thank you, take ten points for Slytherin," the teacher replied, and Ginny grasped hold of her seat. Feeling as if she might stand up and start shouting if she let go, she concentrated on trying to slow her breathing. Harry, she knew, would also have had trouble keeping quiet. It was only by trying to list every song ever sung by the Weird Sisters that she managed to shift her focus away from her anger, and this didn't help her goal of disrupting the lesson.

It was nearly twenty minutes later that Ginny felt calm enough to attempt the task she had set herself. She took a pinch of powder from a small container inside her pencilcase and blew it into the air. A whispered, "Disperso!" and the powder floated away from her to cover the entire classroom. For a moment it had no effect, but Ginny trusted Fred and George. Sure enough, a few moments later the entire classroom was filled with a darkness that Professor Carrow could not illuminate.

The teacher tried igniting her wand tip, then searched for the torch brackets by feel. The resultant shouts of pain added to the general chaos; the torches were of course still alight, and hot enough to burn. No form of light seemed to be able to pierce the darkness, which was exactly as the twins advertised on the packaging of the Peruvian Instant Darkness powder.

Ginny was pleased with the mayhem she had caused, but this wasn't the entirety of what she intended. She reached into her schoolbag and by feel selected a package that she had placed carefully into the separate pocket at the front. It was squishy, as if somebody had bagged up a soup or stew, but she knew that once it was open, it would smell far worse.

Bag in one hand and wand in the other, Ginny stood carefully up. She had chosen a seat on the end of the back row, so was able to navigate to the door without difficulty. She slipped though into the light and hurried a short way along the corridor to the Defence classroom she had just vacated. Ginny tipped the contents of the bag onto the floor with a splash; they formed a small puddle that began to seep through the crack under the door into the classroom.

Ginny took a few large steps back before performing the required charm. The portable swamp came with instructions, but she didn't take the time to bother reading these because she had already learned the spell by heart the previous afternoon. With a squelching noise like the one made by tearing a stuck boot out of sticky mud the swamp expanded, and Ginny ran.

When she ducked back inside her classroom she found it in much the same state of chaos that it had been in when she'd left. She returned to her seat, more by luck than judgement, and listened with appreciation. Professor Carrow was still shouting, her language less than polite. Some of the students were expressing fear, some amusement. Of everybody in the room, only Luna had known what Ginny had planned, and as far as Ginny could tell, only Luna was quiet.

Ginny waited a few more minutes then, with a sigh, she recalled the Peruvian Instant Darkness powder. She looked around in the light of the many torches lining the walls. Professor Carrow was kneeling on the floor beside her desk, cradling a burned hand. Luna was leaning back in her chair, hands clasped in her lap, a dreamy smile on her face; several of the other students displayed similar poses suggestive of enjoyment. Others were clearly still scared, or relieved that the darkness had vanished.

Professor Carrow stood, holding her burned hand to her chest, and hurried out of the classroom. Everyone knew that the teacher was going to the Hospital Wing, and wouldn't be back before the end of the lesson. Wanting to see the confusion her swamp would cause, and so she wouldn't have to pretend surprise, Ginny remained seated for a moment, allowing a good number of her classmates to leave the room before she did.

When at last Ginny stepped out into the corridor, the swamp stretched to within inches of her shoes.


	20. Chapter 20

**Chapter Twenty**

Neville waited until much later that evening, when the common room was almost empty during dinner, before approaching Ginny. Still, he took note of who remained nearby, and kept his voice low. "I hear the swamp was a success," he said.

"Yes," Ginny told him, "But I want to do more."

"Look at this," Neville said, pulling a piece of parchment out of his bag. "I had all afternoon free, and didn't spend it all doing my homework." He was rather proud of this parchment, and Ginny nodded appreciatively as she read it. "Shall we put it up now?" he asked, and she agreed immediately.

A large drawing of Harry took up a good quarter of the page, with Neville's neat but rounded writing underneath it. _Wanted: brave students willing to express our dissatisfaction with the current administration of Hogwarts._ Neville stood back, admiring his handiwork, then glanced at Ginny again. "I didn't want to put anyone's name to it," he admitted, "I don't want to get us in trouble for no good reason. For a purpose, yes, but it doesn't matter to everyone else who their instructions come from."

"You're right," Ginny agreed. "Some things are worth it, some aren't. Stick with the plan, remain anonymous, but we need to give an instruction. And I sort of like the way you've put Harry's face on it. I mean, he can't be in any more trouble, and it might encourage people to join."

"That's what I thought too," Neville tried to explain. "And even if Snape or the Carrows see it somehow, they know it can't really be him. I did consider Dumbledore, but I wasn't sure. Seamus also said it was easier to draw Harry. Anyway, instructions…" He let this thought go silent as he wondered what they could ask their classmates to do first.

"Graffiti," Ginny said. "Let's have everyone say what they think, write it big on the walls in the hallways."

This was something that Neville remembered talking about, and he nodded. "It could work," he agreed. He raised his quill and filled in the blank space at the bottom of the poster.. _Express your feelings tonight, sneak out and write whatever you want about Snape and the Carrows on the walls. Let them know what we think!_

Neville stood back once more and nodded. "I'd be willing to lead a group of people out to do it," he said, "But everyone should probably do it alone, so if anything goes wrong, less people caught."

"Let me copy that, so the Ravenclaws and Hufflepuffs can have one too," Ginny said, raising her wand.

Neville went down to dinner a minute later and found an empty spot beside Seamus. "Ginny likes your artwork," he said, unwilling to voice any more detail in public, but Seamus nodded his understanding. "She's added a little to it," Neville finished, looking at the variety of dishes in front of him.

"Pork's even better than usual tonight," Seamus told him. "I'll stay a bit longer, have another chop. It's not like I've got anything more important than homework to do."

Neville and Seamus were two of the last Gryffindors to vacate the Great Hall; they returned to a full common room. A few students, mostly those in fifth year or above, were working, but most seemed to be either looking at the poster or talking about it. The boys headed upstairs to their dorm; now that they were the only two sleeping there, they'd upturned Dean's old bed to make a desk large enough for both to work at.

With nothing better to do, given that the dormitory was probably under some sort of magical observation, Neville settled down to continue a Herbology essay on the types of plants successfully grown in the polar regions. Once this was complete he practiced a charm that he suspected Professor Flitwick might test them on in their next lesson, then settled down to his Defence Against the Dark Arts work.

Professor Carrow had asked, with a sneer twisting his lips, that the class write an essay on the possible ways that traitors to a cause might be identified. Usually Neville would have drafted something brief enough to avoid detention; this time he tried to think a little harder. He didn't bother to try to make the essay his best work, and wasn't aiming to gain a high grade or to please the teacher; Neville simply thought that it might be smart to consider the topic in relation to the DA.

When the draft was complete it was still a series of notes under bullet point headings; Neville was under no illusions that it would gain him a mark above a P at the very best. Still, he was satisfied with the evening's efforts. He placed his quill, parchment and other necessities back into his bag, causing Seamus to look over at him.

"It's gone midnight," Seamus said. "Shall we go out and have some fun?"

Neville automatically checked his watch. "Yes," he said. "I'd forgotten, I was about to go to bed." He felt more awake than he had moments before, nervous but a little excited at the same time. The two boys changed into their pyjamas, so they'd have no need to do so once they returned, and picked up their wands.

There was nobody in the common room when they reached the bottom of the staircase, but as they threaded their way through the chairs the portrait hole opened to admit the entirety of the first form girls. The younger students froze, then looked around as if searching for an escape.

"You're not in trouble with us," Neville said quietly. "Have you been out writing on the walls like the poster said?" The girls nodded. "Us too," Neville told them, and the girls relaxed visibly. "If more posters appear, have a serious think about what you're doing, how it might help and what would happen if you got caught," Neville warned. He didn't want to scare the girls any further, but it would be irresponsible to abuse their naivety and innocence.

"We did think about it," the tallest girl said. "We agreed we'd rather be expelled than stay. All of us. It doesn't matter if Snape sends us home."

Neville smiled sadly as he followed Seamus out of the portrait hole.


	21. Chapter 21

**Chapter Twenty One**

Luna placed the copy of Neville's poster on the noticeboard in the Ravenclaw common room as Ginny asked, and that night she snuck out into the corridors. She spent some time wandering cautiously around the school, and every few minutes she came upon a piece of writing or a hastily drawn picture on the wall. She knew her favourite slogan was _Dumbledore's Army; Still Recruiting_ but couldn't choose between a caricature of Snape and a fairly realistic depiction of the Carrow sister being burned at the stake as the image she liked best.

When she returned to Ravenclaw Tower Luna took the poster down, but she stowed it safely in her trunk for later use. Carefully she tipped colour changing ink over it, obscuring the words, so that it would be unreadable until she turned the stain pale to allow the original blue-black writing to show through. Precautions taken, Luna went to bed happy.

The following hours passed, and Luna woke with an expectant feeling that she couldn't quite pin down. It took a few moments to remember the previous night's wanderings, and even longer to realise that, given her morning Ancient Runes lessons and free afternoon, she wouldn't need to face the Carrows at all. This pleased her, but at the same time she wished she could see the teachers' reactions when they discovered what the students had done.

It didn't take long for Luna to find out that she would, in fact, get to see at least part of this spectacle. She ran through her usual morning routine, finishing this by heading down to the Great Hall for breakfast. Luna wandered slowly, again observing the night's work but when she reached the bottom of the marble staircase she paused, certain that something was wrong but unable to place it. For a moment she hesitated, then understanding came.

There was almost no sound coming through the wide open doorway. Where there should have been an unceasing babble of chatter, laughter and the chink of knives and forks, there was close to nothing. A few muffled footsteps, maybe, but no more, not even the hushed murmur of a whisper.

Luna knew that something had happened, and that it was likely in response to the students' antics the previous evening. She entered the Great Hall, and her shoes were loud on the stone floor. A few people turned to look as she took a place at the end of the Ravenclaw table, but most gave only a quick glance before turning away. It wasn't until she'd settled down that she turned her gaze up towards the staff table on its raised platform at the far end of the large room.

A pair of small shapes huddled at the feet of the seat where Snape sat. On either side of the Headmaster the Carrows too looked down at the girls, who Luna thought were third year Hufflepuffs. The pair were clearly in serious trouble.

Luna didn't know what to do. She looked around, trying to gauge the level of support she might get if she protested, and she found herself looking at Neville across several tables. He gave a slight shake of his head, and Luna reluctantly blinked in acknowledgement. Attempting to help the two girls would not spare them their punishment, and would only get their would-be saviours into trouble too. Luna found that this made her angry, and she looked down at the food on the table with clenched fists, unable to eat any of the delicious spread.

As the day progressed Luna learned more of what had happened; once she had heard the whole story she understood why everybody had been shocked into silence and why nobody, herself included, had eaten more than a few bites of their breakfast. It seemed the third years had been laughing at some of the night's graffiti on their way to breakfast, comparing their favourite slogans, when they'd walked into the Professors Carrow. The teachers, already furious, had used the Imperious curse to force the students to enter the Great Hall, then had used the Cruciatus curse as a punishment.

On hearing the tale for the first time, during her Ancient Runes class, Luna accidentally set fire to her textbook. Forcing the anger down she extinguished it with a jet of water, thinking that the display of temper was something more typical of Ginny than of herself. Thinking of her friends began to calm her a little, and she tried to focus on this instead. It worked well enough that she shot no more sparks from the end of her wand, but did not allow her to concentrate on her work.

Once calm enough, Luna began to debate the wisdom of standing up against Snape's regime, silently putting forward one point of view, then trying to counter it with the other. In this manner she occupied the remainder of her double lesson, but by the time she found herself back in the Great Hall for lunch she was no closer to an answer.

Luna sat staring at her plate, still thinking, until a tap on the shoulder roused her. Returning to the world about her, she glanced around to see Ginny. From the expression under the flaming red hair, Ginny knew exactly what Luna was thinking. "Of course it's still worth it, we knew there were risks," Ginny said quietly. "It upsets me too, but those girls won't be the last to be punished. They knew it would be dangerous to laugh about it in the corridors. We'll get the same, sometime soon."

There was nothing Luna could do but nod. Ginny was, as usual, right. "Do you think we should have tried to stop it?" she asked, and Ginny shook her head.

"No, if we tried to, they would just curse everyone who protested," Ginny confirmed, and there was heat in her tone now. "Anyway, I've got to go," she said, and turned away to the Gryffindor table.

Luna sat quietly, surprised at one thing only. How had Ginny known that Luna was upset, before Luna had even realised it herself?


	22. Chapter 22

**Chapter Twenty Two**

As September passed into October Ginny continued to incite chaos within the walls of Hogwarts, aided by the DA and at times by the wider school. Most of all she continued to rely on Luna and Neville, the former appearing outwardly calm, the latter quietly determined. As the students did their best to disrupt Snape and the Carrows, the weather became steadily less pleasant. Rain was frequent, winds strong and temperatures began to drop. Ginny had no reason to leave the shelter of the school, Quidditch now being banned; as such she may have been cold at times, but she was at least dry.

Notices appeared in the common rooms of all four Houses forbidding meetings of three or more students, something that Ginny paid little attention to. She supposed this to be an attempt to stop the students gathering to plot fresh ways of annoying the Headmaster and his two followers, so cared only for keeping DA meetings as safe as possible. Where she could she communicated plans via the quills, only calling people to the Room of Requirement when necessary.

Ginny tipped a love potion into the male Carrow's pumpkin juice; at the end of this lesson he exited his classroom and walked straight into Professor McGonagall. The students backed away, then froze in place, stunned, as he dropped to one knee, declared her the most beautiful woman he had ever set eyes upon and asked her hand in marriage. McGonagall, fighting as hard as any of the students against the laughter that threatened to overwhelm her, stated simply that she would have to borrow a dress from Madam Pomfrey, and led the befuddled Carrow to the hospital wing.

Two nights later Seamus slipped out and drew a highly amusing caricature of the scene; this appeared right outside Defence classroom and was silently admired by all who saw it, with three notable exceptions. The rest of the school, called out again by the same posters as before, contented themselves with slogans or messages of defiance.

Ginny was particularly pleased with a stunt of Neville's; inspired by Ginny's use of the Weasley twins' products, he slipped a large dose of U-No-Poo into the female Carrow's drink, again unattended on her desk. After this the two teachers began locking their classrooms between lessons, so there was little chance of repeating either of these pranks.

Somebody, Ginny never found out who, threw dungbombs into the two Carrows' offices, and several other small jokes were played. By this point Ginny was at a loss. It was Luna who stepped into the breach, hexing the two Slytherins in the Defence class before the lesson had even started such that the remaining fifth years could work together to convince Professor Carrow first that he had set no homework, then that he was the only one able to hear the loud, piggy squeals that Luna was making. Clearly shaken, the teacher ended the class early and made his second trip to the hospital wing in a week.

It infuriated Ginny that so far she had been able to annoy the Carrows, but not act directly against Snape. With no clear plan, she arranged at dinner one Tuesday lunchtime to meet with Neville and Luna in the Room of Requirement that evening. She didn't use the quills, because what she had in mind was dangerous and she was unwilling to risk more people than necessary. As agreed, the pair arrived on time, only moments after Ginny had opened the Room. It was smaller today, fashioned like a living room with three comfortable armchairs and a fireplace.

"I want to do something to Snape," Ginny said, not bothering to greet Neville as he sat down. He and Luna said nothing as Ginny continued, waiting for her to expand on the idea. "I can't think of anything good, he's too well protected, I'm not going to stand up and hex him in the middle of a meal, but I have an idea." Mealtimes were, of course, the only time the students saw the Headmaster, and it would be impractical to attack him then.

When Ginny paused, Luna encouraged her. "Let's hear it, I'd like to see Snape annoyed."

"We break into his office," Ginny said, not surprised at how easily the words came but a little ashamed. "Sometime when we know he's not there. He'll have ways of detecting intruders, won't he, and it'll unsettle him. I bet he'll spend forever wondering who it was and what they were doing."

"But what if we did do something?" Luna asked. Neville kept his mouth firmly shut, and Ginny had the impression that he wasn't at all keen on this idea.

"Like what?" Ginny asked.

"Well, if it were me in Gryffindor, I'd be annoyed that a Slytherin has the sword hanging on his wall," Luna said serenely, and Ginny almost jumped to her feet. She hadn't realised this, and found herself to be more than merely annoyed. Forcing herself back into her armchair, Ginny nodded.

"I like it," she said. "We take the sword. Then what?"

"We hide it, Snape will search everywhere," Luna said.

"Hide it here, then," Ginny agreed.

"This sounds dangerous," Neville broke in, preventing the two girls from continuing to talk through the plan. "Is it worth the risk? I mean, it's not as if we can do anything with the sword, is it?"

"I'm in," Ginny told him, cheeks heating. "If you don't want to, fine, it'll be just the two of us."

"No, if you're really doing it I'd best come too," Neville said. "Even if I do nothing more than stand outside in the corridor and open the staircase if I hear Snape coming."

"Should it be all of us?" Luna asked. "What if we're caught?"

Ginny thought this through for a moment. "No more than us three," she agreed. It wasn't worth the risk of telling anyone else what they planned, or of getting anyone else into trouble if they were discovered.

"I'm going, it was my idea, even if I'm a Ravenclaw," Luna said, far more strongly than usual. There wasn't a hint of her usual dreaminess as she crossed her arms firmly over her chest.

"Fine," Ginny agreed, pleased. "What's the worst that could happen?"

"Don't," Neville advised her.


	23. Chapter 23

**Chapter Twenty Three**

Neville didn't like the plan at all. It wasn't, in his mind, much of a plan. They were simply to leave the Great Hall as soon as Snape appeared for lunch the following day, go quickly to the corridor where the pair of large stone gargoyles guarded the entrance to the Headmaster's office, break in then leave with the Sword of Gryffindor.

After further discussion it transpired that Ginny had most recently visited the office in her first year and Luna, like Neville, had never entered. Luna's information regarding the sword was second-hand but Ginny remembered seeing it after this prompt. She could not, however, remember the password, which Neville suspected was of little consequence, given that Snape would have changed it.

The group departed from the Room of Requirement after some discussion of the possible protection Snape had employed for his office. Neville spent the following hours as he normally would have done, eating his dinner and writing a large part of his latest Herbology essay. He slept poorly, finished the essay after breakfast then turned up to his Defence class. For once he kept his head down, causing no trouble, then he went to the Great Hall.

Neville, usually hungry at any time of the day, did no more than nibble on his sandwich. Snape entered the Great Hall shortly after Neville, who took this as his cue to leave. Ginny joined him as he stepped through the doors, and Luna a moment later. They had seen both Carrows with large plates of sandwiches at the staff table, but this did little to reassure Neville as they hurried along corridors and up staircases.

At last the three stood before the stone gargoyles. Every student in the school knew that behind these guardians was a large spiral staircase that revolved slowly, taking those who stepped onto it up to the Headmaster's office. How they came down, unless the staircase reversed itself, Neville wasn't sure.

The three had spent some time the previous day considering the words that might encourage the gargoyles to allow them admittance. Ginny spoke first, trying Snape's name, and the spoken part of the Alohamora spell. Luna rattled off words and phrases, some linked to what they knew of Snape, some to the Dark Arts. In desperation the pair spoke, their guesses becoming wilder and wilder, but Neville kept silent.

Neville thought hard. Snape had held the Potions job for years, then been the Defence teacher, but Luna was already trying words related to these two occupations. There wasn't much else that Neville knew about the teacher, and nothing more he could think of to try.

"I wonder if this would be easier if Dumbledore was still Headmaster," Neville said, the first words to cross his lips all day. He dropped his gaze, ashamed at the sudden wave of sadness that washed over him, then a moment later looked up to see the grey stone of the impenetrable wall moving.

Neville didn't know if it had been Ginny or Luna who had opened the staircase, but as the walls slid away a gap appeared between the two gargoyles. There was no turning back, and Neville followed the girls inside. Barely had the three taken their place on the bottom step than it began to raise upwards, turning. The spiral staircase revolved slowly until at last it came to a stop, presenting them with a heavy wooden door.

Ginny pushed the door open and stepped decisively through, followed by Luna; Neville hesitated a moment before following. None of the three spoke; there was no need to do so. They all knew what they were there to do, and they all knew they had do to it before Snape could react if he had placed any warning spells on the room.

Neville looked around as he followed Ginny across the office. It was circular, the walls lined with portraits of the previous Headmasters of Hogwarts. Most were sleeping, and the rest, Neville knew, would not give them away. There was a heavy oak desk, polished with a product so dark that it appeared almost black in the light of the torches thrust into brackets on the walls.

On the far side of the room stood a glass-fronted bookcase or cabinet, shelves containing many items that Neville did not recognise or know the use of. One, he did. The Sword of Gryffindor lay alone, taking up the entire length of its shelf, but the girls were struggling to reach it.

The glass front of the cabinet did not appear to have a lock. It did not open in response to Ginny's whispered command. Knowing that they were probably running out of time, Neville crossed the room in a few long strides. Pulling back his arm, he turned shoulder-first to the plate of glass and let swing.

Neville's knuckles stung, but he knew he had done the job. A shower of glass shards spun briefly in the torchlight but he had already closed his eyes against this, thinking belatedly that he should have warned the girls. A moment later he thought it would be safe again and he looked to see Ginny reaching in through the hole he had made. She had to widen it slightly, not a difficult task, but at last the sword rested in her hand.

"Reducio," Luna said, pointing her wand at the sword. They had hoped to hide it in Ginny's schoolbag, but the spell had no effect. Ginny tried shrinking the sword too, then Neville tried Vanishing it. Again nothing happened.

"Let's just get out of here," Neville suggested, turning for the door. He was pleased to hear the two girls follow without question or complaint; they would just have to trust to luck as they carried the sword through the corridors to the Room of Requirement.

Luck, however, was not on their side. The trio reached the door to the spiral staircase; Luna pushed it open and they stepped through onto the small ledge beyond. Neville saw to his horror that the staircase was already revolving upwards, carrying somebody towards them. With no other way out of the Headmaster's office, they were trapped.


	24. Chapter 24

**Chapter Twenty Four**

Luna didn't know for sure who was coming up the stairs, but she could make an educated guess. Without knowing immediately why, she stowed her wand in her pocket. Luna didn't deceive herself, she was fully aware of the basic fact that she would soon be in serious trouble; it was something else that caused the instinctive movement. A moment later it came to her. Luna understood that resistance would be futile; the three friends combined could not hope to overcome Snape in a duel. It wasn't this that stopped her trying; she had, after all, turned her wand on Death Eaters in the past.

The truth was that Luna didn't feel that she was in immediate danger. She disliked Snape and detested his rule within Hogwarts, but right at that moment she was not scared. Annoyed that their venture had not succeeded, maybe, but not afraid that Snape would hurt her. He would be angry, she thought, but without the Carrows around he would not cause her, a pure-blood girl of no little magical ability, any lasting harm.

It took some time for Luna to process these thoughts, time that Ginny spent in raising her wand, her face nearly as red as her hair. Neville stepped between the two girls and slightly in front; Ginny then elbowed him out of the way as Snape appeared on the revolving staircase in front of them.

The Headmaster had his wand out already. He held it close to his body but raised, as if he expected somebody to attack him at any moment. Luna gave a small smile at the thought that they had managed to discomfort him. She wanted to tell her friends not to cast any spells, but the words wouldn't come. It didn't matter; one swish of Snape's wand and both of Luna's companions had been disarmed.

Snape glanced at the two wands on the floor, then held his free hand out towards Luna. She knew what he wanted, and reached into her pocket. Slowly she placed her own wand into Snape's open palm. He swept downwards to collect the two at his feet and with a gesture indicated that the students should go back into his office.

Luna and her two friends did this, Ginny still holding the sword of Gryffindor. Luna saw her glance down, her eyes widening as she realised that she still held a weapon, and stepped on Ginny's foot. Luna knew nothing good would happen if Ginny attacked Snape with the sword, but Ginny's expression suggested that she might make the attempt regardless of the consequences.

Another wave of Snape's wand relieved Ginny of the sword, which floated through the air and back into the cabinet where it had previously been laying. The three students turned to see this; Snape did not. Instead he sat down on the chair behind his desk, not needing the advantage of his height to discomfort the students. Ginny's angry colour was fading, Luna realised, and Neville swayed slightly, as if close to fainting. She faced her teacher, not as scared as her friends but aware that she would not like what was about to happen.

Snape did not shout. He had no need to do so. Luna allowed her mind to wander, but tried to maintain an expression suggestive of her interest in the Headmaster's words. It would not be smart to appear dreamy-eyed and absent-minded, as she knew she had a tendency to do when she thought of something other than what was going on around her. Snape's voice, low and tense, faded into the background.

Luna could see Snape's lips moving, the thin lines set into a permanent twist even as he spoke, yet the words washed over her without making any impression. One thing she was sure of, even as she focused on potential Christmas gifts for her father, was that Snape was worried. She didn't know how she knew this, and was sure that her two companions would only see him as angry or threatening, yet she knew that something had disturbed the Headmaster.

It pleased Luna that their intrusion into his office had affected Snape. Although he had taken back the sword, he had no other way of knowing what mischief the trio had intended, or indeed accomplished. Perhaps she could find some Veritaserum as a present for her father; he would appreciate the truth potion whilst interviewing people for his magazine. Not that most people seemed to need it; they were only too pleased to tell their stories, most of the time…

Snape was now detailing the students' punishment. Or rather, Luna decided after a moment, he was trying to scare them with suggestions of what he might decree. They were, of course, safe from expulsion, now that attendance of Hogwarts was compulsory for all wizard children of the appropriate age.

Maybe her father would appreciate something to remember her by, during the times she spent away at school. This train of thought was an interesting one, and she lost almost all sense of where she was as she considered objects that might fit this description. She found herself humming, and stopped immediately. Her father already had plenty of photographs of her, but she might be able to make him something. A quill like the one she had given Ginny for the DA, so they could communicate faster than owls could fly?

A sudden pressure on her toe reminded Luna of where she was. Ginny's foot lifted off of hers almost immediately, but it had been enough. Snape's office came back into focus, the portraits on the walls all whispering to each other as the Headmaster spoke. The glass in the cabinet seemed to have repaired itself, she noticed. Luna began to wonder what spell had been used, by whom, and when; it was clearly not something that Snape had done in the few minutes since he had replaced the sword.

After pausing a moment, Snape spoke again. This time Luna paid a little more attention. "You will meet me," the Headmaster said softly, "In the Entrance Hall. Tonight, at midnight. Be prepared to go outdoors, and bring your wands."


	25. Chapter 25

**Chapter Twenty Five**

Ginny was halfway along the twisting route that lead to the Defence classroom when she remembered something that made her anger, temporarily masked, flare up once more. Snape could not, legally, expel her from Hogwarts. The law requiring attendance had annoyed her when it was first passed; what infuriated her now was that she had forgotten it. Had she remembered the odd safety it conferred, she would never have behaved so meekly once cornered. Her pure-blood status, as with Neville and Luna, could not be doubted.

Well, she would just have to make her displeasure known that night. Snape had let the three students go just before the end of their lunch break, giving them no more detail than that their punishment would be an official detention and that they should meet him in the Entrance Hall at midnight. None of the teenagers had responded to this, or to any of Snape's irritating comments; the only move they had made was to leave the Headmaster's office when told to do so.

Ginny walked with Luna, as both were very close to being late for the same lesson. Professor Carrow would be all too pleased to give both girls another detention, or to punish them immediately, if they happened to turn up to his class after he had begun teaching. Not that anything the sixth years had yet studied under him could be classed as learning, Ginny thought as the pair turned a corner and reached a staircase.

Today's lesson, Ginny found, was no different in that respect. Maybe taking notes from his sister, Professor Carrow spent the entire lesson lecturing on methods of identifying and neutralising half-bloods. These were, he insisted, weak to the point of almost being powerless, but dangerous because of their numbers.

Had Ginny not know better, she might have assumed from the information given over the course of the lesson that a half-blood was a kind of magical creature, something non-human, certainly non-intelligent, with limited abilities. The session was similar, in fact, to one he had delivered a few weeks earlier regarding goblins.

Already angry by the time she arrived to the lesson, Ginny barely restrained her temper. She moved a short way down the hall afterwards with the rest of her class to attend their following Muggle Studies lesson; a knot of Slytherins talked animatedly, but the students from the other three houses made almost no noise as they waited for the female Carrow to admit them. Ginny stood alone, facing partway towards the wall so that she could turn away if anyone dared to look in her direction, and thought about Neville.

Ginny was aware that Neville was in Gryffindor tower; he had stated his intention of returning there when they had separated earlier. He was possibly with Seamus Finnegan, possibly alone, but certainly nervous about whatever Snape had in store for them that evening. Ginny herself wasn't worried, if anything she was looking forward to the opportunity to give Snape a piece of her mind, but the idea of Neville sitting alone and worried would not leave her mind.

Ginny would have liked to skip the Muggle Studies class, but she did not feel it would be wise to do so almost immediately after being given a detention. The lure of the Skiving Snackboxes was strong, but she had other ideas. As she took her seat, this time on the end of the second row, she pulled a small packet out of her schoolbag along with her quill and books. Fred and George might be highly irritating, she thought, but at times her twin brothers were exactly what she needed.

Under normal circumstances the person wishing to use the daydream charm would point their wand tip towards themselves and say an incantation. Ginny's brothers, though, had her let her in on a few secrets. Point the wand at somebody else, and the charm still worked. Say the incantation backwards, and the result was a vivid nightmare. The two tweaks, Fred had assured her, would still work in combination.

Ginny dipped the tip of her wand into the thin layer of powder at the bottom of the box, shook the excess off, and aimed it at her teacher. She spoke quietly, keeping her voice low so as not to be heard over the loud chatter of the Slytherins in front of her. She wouldn't have minded giving them nightmares, but her target was Professor Carrow.

The teacher froze in place, eyes wide, then made a sudden grab for the wand she had just laid down on her desk. Her breathing fast and shallow, she snatched it up and began waving it wildly around as if unsure how to confront whatever she believed was happening to her. The students ducked behind their desks as she began firing spells at random; two of the Slytherins in the front row were not quick enough to get out of her way. The first sprouted tentacles from both ears, the second, a boy, grabbed at his crotch at ran from the room.

Professor Carrow clutched her wand to her chest and crouched behind her desk, presumably taking shelter from something that she thought was hunting for her. Most of the students found the situation amusing, some laughing loudly and some attempting to hold in the mirth. Ginny herself was not having so much fun; although she was pleased with the chaos, she was also still trying to repress the anger and disappointment of their failed expedition into Snape's office.

Ginny finally smiled when the rest of the class began to bring their giggling back under control. Singly, in pairs and small groups they left the room, aware that their teacher would not soon be in any fit state to either deliver the lesson or to punish them for not staying in their seats. Ginny saw Luna leave with the other Ravenclaw girls, and decided that this was actually quite a good idea. The earlier the two, and Neville if he was willing, began discussing how to disrupt Snape's planned evening activities, the more successful the disruptions were likely to be.


	26. Chapter 26

**Chapter Twenty Six**

Neville spent the afternoon in abject misery. Most of the Gryffindor seventh years were in the common room or the library, working; he could not concentrate even on a fascinating essay Professor Sprout had set on the magical properties of the plants found around the Galapagos islands. Neville knew he should edit the first draft he had completed that morning, or else start some of his Charms work. He could even have attempted something for Defence or Muggle Studies, but instead retreated higher up into the tower and sat down on his bed, where nobody but Seamus would be able to disturb him.

The sky had darkened completely before Neville moved. On realising he could barely see the torches in brackets fixed to the stone walls, he pointed his wand at the nearest one; a moment later it began to glow with a flame that would not burn out. Flickering light filled the circular room and Neville checked the time. He sat motionless again for the next few hours, until at last he stood, feeling that he should eat some dinner. This he did, finding once he arrived at the Great Hall that he was actually quite hungry, then returned to Gryffindor Tower.

Neville took his essay upstairs to the room now shared by only himself and Seamus, trying to convince himself that he would work on it as he waited for midnight to arrive. He found somebody waiting outside the room, though, and it wasn't Seamus. Ginny stood on the steps, toe tapping impatiently. They entered together to find Seamus practicing some transfigurations that Neville didn't recognise; Seamus' hair had vanished, and his eyes were purple. Neville felt his own cheeks flush red as he and Ginny seated themselves, he on his bed and her on the one that Ron had always used.

"This isn't what it looks like," Neville said, and Ginny shot him a scowl.

"It looks like you two are planning something, aren't you?" Seamus asked.

"Oh, sort of," Neville stammered, wondering why he had spoken in the first place; it wasn't like he and Ginny had walked in holding hands. He didn't feel that way towards her; quite aside from the fact that she was in his mind still Harry's girlfriend, she also had too much confidence and temper for him to feel entirely comfortable alone with her. Luna, on the other hand…

Seamus glanced from one to the other and back again, obviously confused, causing Ginny to take control. "We did have a plan," she said. "Us and Luna broke into Snape's office, but we weren't quick enough to get back out again."

"You're not expelled?" Seamus asked the very thing that Neville had been trying to understand all afternoon.

"Of course not, they can't, we're pure-blood so by law we have to be here," Ginny said, tossing her flaming hair out of her face over her shoulder.

Neville sat quietly as Ginny explained what had happened over lunchtime. So that was why Snape hadn't sent them home on the next train… Suddenly he felt a little braver.

The surge of courage had long since deserted Neville when the time grew close to midnight, to be replaced with a sense of determination. He knew he wouldn't like what was to come, but he also knew that he would manage to face it. He and Ginny hadn't been able to formulate much of a plan, for the simple reason that they didn't know what Snape had in store; they reached the Entrance Hall still unsure, to find Luna sitting on the bottom step of the marble staircase, humming to herself.

Neville smiled at Luna, who returned the expression. The three sat then without talking, knowing better than to scare themselves further by speculating. After a few minutes, though, Neville wasn't so sure that the two girls were in fact scared. Ginny's leg twitched, but the tips of her ears were red with anger. Luna seemed to be quite content as she hummed, her eyes unfocused and her mind elsewhere.

Midnight came and went, with no sign of Snape. Neville wished he would just arrive; the sooner they started, the sooner they would be finished. He would very much appreciate the opportunity for a little sleep before breakfast and the following Muggle Studies lesson, but this didn't seem likely. Maybe he could eat, then use one of his few remaining Skiving Snackboxes to leave the class. After all, a bed in the Hospital Wing was still a bed.

This train of thought was abruptly derailed by a creaking sound that echoed through the quiet chamber. Neville hadn't realised that Luna had stopped humming, but the sound of the large oak front doors opening made him realise he could hear nothing else save the girls' breathing and his own heartbeat.

Neville pulled his wand out of his jeans pocket; before the doors were fully open there were three wands pointing in that direction. The students had expected Snape to appear on the marble staircase, and didn't know who was approaching from the grounds. A moment later, though, all three wands dropped. Neville felt his lips twitch almost into a smile as he recognised Hagrid and he stood up. The students approached him, the two girls clearly as pleased as Neville himself.

"Hullo, you three," Hagrid boomed. Indoors, his voice echoed off of the walls. "Yeh'll be comin' wi' me. I heard abou' yer detentions, so I told Snape I had some unpleasant an' dangerous work needed doin' in the Forest. Got yer wands?"

Neville nodded, feeling a little courage return. "Are we going into the Forbidden Forest, then?" he asked.

"We are," Hagrid told him, and Neville was pleased to find himself nodding in acceptance. "There's things I want to talk to you about, you three," he said in barely more than a whisper. Neville understood at once; it wasn't possible to say or do anything within the castle without the risk of being overheard. "Yer in big trouble, all of yeh," Hagrid said then, much louder. "Yer not going to like this at all," he added with voice still raised as if he suspected that Snape might be eavesdropping, then gestured towards the open doors.

Neville, uncertain, followed Hagrid out into the moonlit grounds.


	27. Chapter 27

**Chapter Twenty Seven**

Luna found herself smiling as she followed Hagrid out of the castle, Ginny at her side and Neville a little behind the two girls. She hadn't been too worried, after all whatever punishment they had to face would eventually end, but the relief she had felt upon seeing the huge shape of the half-giant framed against the oak front doors was undeniable.

Although past midnight, it wasn't too dark; the moon shone brightly and the sky was full of stars. Luna glanced up, searching for patterns, then stumbled over a tuft of grass. Maybe it would be better to concentrate on where she was going than to gaze upwards. Still, she couldn't stop herself thinking as she walked. Nobody spoke, allowing her mind to wander freely. What was it that Hagrid wanted to talk to them about?

The small group crossed the open grounds quietly; clearly Hagrid wasn't about to confide anything yet. They reached the edge of the Forbidden Forest without incident, and he raised a hand, indicating that the students should stop.

"Now, we're goin' into the Fores', so wands out." Hagrid spoke quietly, but Luna had no difficulty hearing. "There's nothing in there will hurt you, if you stick wi' me, but can' be too careful."

Luna pulled her wand from her pocket and lit the tip, having noticed that it was darker where the trees cut the light of the moon and stars. Ginny and Neville did the same.

"I'll tell yeh what we're doin' when we get in there," Hagrid said, and Luna understood that he still though they might be overheard. "Fer now, jus' follow me."

The small group entered the trees. The path under their feet was rough with roots and the branches came completely over their heads, but the trunks themselves were spaced wide enough for the three students to walk side by side. Immediately Luna knew that lighting their wands had been the right thing to do, and thought it a shame that Hagrid wasn't allowed to use magic.

"In fact, I do have a job ter do," Hagrid said, his voice a little more like usual. He told them quickly, and Luna knew it was less unpleasant than any task Snape could have set them. One of the trees on the edge of a specific clearing, he told them, had recently acquired a swarm of bees, and he wanted to move them. "The centaurs are riled," he explained. "They use the clearing, see, for stargazin' an' other such nonsense."

This task proved simple; Ginny shot a stunning spell at the hive, Neville used a severing charm to separate it from the tree and Luna volunteered to levitate it to a new home. Wand high, she directed it along the path in front of her until Hagrid called a halt. He suggested a suitable tree and as Luna held it in place, Ginny used a sealing charm to attach the hive to the new tree.

Task complete, Hagrid directed them deeper into the Forest, back towards the clearing.

Interested in what Hagrid might have to say, Luna halted in the centre of the clearing. There didn't appear to be anyone around, and after a walk around the perimeter Hagrid returned to the students. "I wouldn't bother yeh," he began, "but I've got an idea, and I think yeh all might like it. I want you to spread the word, but be careful."

"We'll be careful," Neville promised.

"What do you need?" Ginny asked. Luna simply waited; Hagrid would explain soon.

"Well, I want ter hold a celebration, a party," Hagrid eventually said. "In honour of Harry, see? Ter show certain, er, disloyal, staff that we still support him."

"I see," Luna said, liking this idea immediately. "And you want us to let everyone know about it?"

"That's dangerous," Neville interrupted. "They can't expel us but they can sack you."

"Yeh think I care abou' bein' sacked?" Hagrid asked. "It won' be the firs' time it's happened. I want Harry to know we're thinking about him, see, an' if I do get sacked, he'll hear about it, right?"

"Well I'm in," Ginny said, not allowing Neville the chance to speak.

Luna herself liked the idea. A party would be good fun, and if Harry heard about it, then it might make him feel better to know people were thinking of him, wherever he was. It would be sad, of course, if Hagrid had to leave Hogwarts, but he spoke her next thought aloud.

"Even if I have ter leave, I won' let them take me away," he promised. "An' maybe I can be more useful out there. I can' do nothin' useful here, yeh've got that under control, from what I hear," he finished.

"Let's think this through," Neville said. "The three of us spread the news, to who? Who do we invite? And if someone does tell Snape or the Carrows? I'm not trying to get out of it," he added, seeing Ginny's expression even in the dim light. "Say we're sitting around, drinking butterbeer, telling stories about Harry, whatever, and Snape comes bursting in?"

"I'll say I forced yer all to come," Hagrid said.

"Don't bother," Ginny told him. "Snape's not that stupid."

"She's right," Luna said. "Maybe we shouldn't invite too many people, only those who know it'll probably end in detention or worse."

"But I can' let yer –" Hagrid began, but Ginny cut him off.

"If you're willing to risk being sacked, we're willing to risk detention," she told him firmly, and Luna could see the determination in her eyes.

"Luna's right," Hagrid told her, almost as strongly. "Only a few of yer. Sixth an' seventh years only. An' tell them I expect Snape might turn up."

With a few more details worked out, the group made their way slowly back along the winding path to the edge of the Forbidden Forest. Hagrid walked them up to the castle, where he waved the trio goodnight.

"What in the name of Merlin is he thinking of?" Neville burst out, as soon as the doors had closed.

"Go duel a dragon," Ginny swore, the irritation plain in her tone. "I'm doing it."

"It could be good fun," Luna smiled.


	28. Chapter 28

**Chapter Twenty Eight**

The Support Harry Potter party did not go as Ginny had expected. It was a small affair, true enough, and was held as planned in Hagrid's cabin. There was, however, no sign of Snape, the Carrows or indeed anyone save for the handful of sixth and seventh year students who had quietly been invited between Hagrid's proposing the idea and it taking place on Saturday afternoon.

Ginny was, if anything, slightly disappointed in this. The group left in time for dinner, already full of butterbeer, and made their way back up to the castle. The students had enjoyed the drink, usually not available in Hogwarts, and had spent a few hours reminiscing; Ginny herself had remained quiet. Most of her memories with Harry were not ones she was willing to share. She thought as she walked, recalling the time they had spent together, in the grounds and in his dorm room, the previous summer.

It wasn't until she had seated herself at the Gryffindor table that Ginny was able to focus her mind on what was going on around her. She had the rest of the weekend to plan whatever mischief she intended to cause over the next week, and decided that a DA meeting was now overdue. Quietly she mentioned this to Neville.

"Do we need a meeting?" Neville asked. "I like the idea of involving the whole school again, even if it is only the graffiti like we did before. That annoyed Snape, it's worth repeating."

There was too much truth in this for Ginny to deny, and she stopped at both the Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff tables on her way out of the Great Hall. She, Luna and Hannah Abbot pinned the three copies of the poster on their respective common room notice boards that evening, and Ginny struggled to concentrate as she attempted to practice a non-verbal Self-Tying charm that she thought Flitwick might test her on the following morning. The moment she muttered the incantation the charm worked as it should have done, but otherwise her shoelaces remained stubbornly loose.

Ginny gave up working at nearly ten o'clock, at which point she stuffed her wand into her jeans pocket and headed out of the portrait hole. Nobody else had yet done so, but she heard people climbing through the hole now, following her lead.

"Let's all split up," Ginny suggested to the group of third and fourth year students crowded around her. "Alone, or in pairs. So if we're caught, we're not all caught." She didn't wait for anyone to reply but walked purposefully along the corridor. Some of the younger students followed her, some did not. Those who did kept a respectful distance, and branched out into other corridors or down staircases whenever they reached a junction. Soon Ginny was alone, and at her goal.

The two stone gargoyles looked at her, but remained silent.

Ginny enjoyed decorating the wall outside of Snape's office with rude words and derogatory comments, but she enjoyed the following day even more. Snape did not appear at breakfast, and the Carrows turned up late. These three staff patrolled the corridors all day, waiting to catch a student showing approval of the slogans and caricatures now covering the walls, but they failed to punish a single miscreant. Filch, the cantankerous old Squib caretaker, spent the whole day on Sunday scrubbing the walls, but failed to remove more than a quarter of the graffiti.

The prank was so successful this time that Ginny, Neville and Luna agreed, after a whispered conversation in the Entrance Hall, to put the posters up for another night. Again the students turned out en masse, and again there was no backlash. This infuriated the Carrows, as Ginny found out on Monday morning.

"I should have the lot of you whipped," Professor Carrow said, as his class took their seats. "Whipped, and cursed," he said. "Rudeness, and filth. If it was up to me…" He let the thought trail off. "As it is… Weasley, Lovegood, you are banned from Hogsmeade, some of the seventh years too. I shall take great pleasure in telling them this afternoon."

Ginny was determined not to give him great pleasure now. She merely blinked, though her hand tightened on the book she was pulling out of her schoolbag. Had it been her wand, she thought, she would probably have cursed the teacher. Luna, though, raised a hand, confusion written clearly on her face.

"Sir? Why me and Ginny?" Luna asked.

Professor Carrow did not answer. It was a fair question, Ginny knew; the pair of them had done nothing, or nothing that the staff knew about, that separated them from any other of the sixth year students. They had been punished already for their excursion into Snape's office; Carrow did not have even the smallest excuse for singling them out. It was true, of course, that Ginny and Luna were leaders in the growing rebellion, and the other students followers. The staff had no way of proving this, and Ginny felt her cheeks heat in anger.

Ginny took a few deep breaths, determined not to give Professor Carrow a reaction. She thought instead of what it might mean for her to be denied permission to visit the village. There had so far been no trips, and although she would miss the opportunity to visit the Three Broomsticks, there was nothing else to cause her significant discomfort. She could pay someone to buy her whatever quills, ink or other such supplies she needed, and Zonko's joke shop was after all no match for the twins' products. Honeydukes sweet shop was the other thing she would miss, but again she could send a friend if she wanted a treat.

No, Ginny decided. It wasn't a bad thing that she'd been banned from the village; it wouldn't inconvenience her too much, but it would show everyone yet again how unfair Snape and the Carrows could be. With this thought in mind she took a pinch of wartcap powder from her schoolbag and, with a flick of her wand, sent it towards her teacher. Professor Carrow dropped the wand he had been pointing at Luna, and looked down at the scabs now covering the exposed skin on his hands.


	29. Chapter 29

**Chapter Twenty Nine**

Neville was pleasantly surprised to have staged a forbidden gathering of students in Hagrid's cabin without reprisal, but rather less pleased when, the following Tuesday, Ginny suggested making this a regular occurrence. November came, bringing with it gusts of wind that made the thought even less inviting. By the end of the month they had staged two more Support Harry Potter parties, both without a visit from Snape or the Carrows. There had been no trips arranged to Hogsmeade, so the students enjoyed the opportunity to drink butterbeer and talk freely outside of the main castle.

Neville worked hard in his Herbology classes and gave his full attention to any work set by Professor Sprout. He put nearly as much effort into Charms and continued to do only enough to avoid detention for Muggle Studies and Defence. He turned up to the classes and handed in work that averaged between a P or a D grade, and didn't care. In a way it was easier to concentrate on only two subjects, and of course on the DA.

DA meetings were infrequent, for the simple reason that there was no point risking discovery when Ginny had the enchanted quill to pass messages and instructions. She now asked Neville, and several of the other older students, to lead a series of raids on the Carrows' offices. These were well planned, with volunteers watching for the teachers whilst the remainder of the group performed some small mischief.

The female Carrow first had her office submerged in a portable swamp, then filled with Peruvian Instant Darkness powder. Multiple small items on her desk were Vanished, her talking clock was Silenced and her door sealed using the Colloportus spell. Her brother first had love potion added to a half-full bottle of pumpkin juice that he'd left on his desk, much to the delight of all who saw his advances towards Professor Trelawney. Two days later Neville himself slipped a healthy dose of U-No-Poo into his jar of coffee beans; looking much the same as the beans themselves, Professor Carrow did not realise his mistake, and spent much of that afternoon in the Hospital Wing.

Neville had to admit that Fred and George's products had been invaluable so far, and spent all of his pocket money on the owl-order service provided by the twins; his one regret in this was that he could not afford any of the Weasleys' magical fireworks. Still, he took every opportunity possible to disrupt the Carrows' lessons using even the most simple of spells. The posters suggesting that the Gryffindor, Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff students graffiti the castle walls were put onto the common room notice boards on several more occasions, until Seamus and Neville himself came very close to being caught by Snape.

Neville and Seamus, the only two Gryffindor seventh year boys remaining at Hogwarts, left the common room together at about three o'clock in the morning on the last Monday of November, planning to see which parts of the school had been targeted already and talking quietly about what they might like to write. Seamus, good with a quill, sketched a quick caricature of the female Carrow standing in a swamp up to her knees, no doubt inspired by Neville's earlier escapade into her office. Her brother faced a very large and rather angry-looking blast-ended Skrewt in a far more realistic portrayal that left Neville torn between laughter and fear of what would happen should the Carrows realise who had created that particular piece of artwork.

"I want to do something simple," Neville said, "But put it somewhere important. Not near Snape's office, all of Ginny's stuff is still there." This was a point of pride for most of the DA, and yet again Neville wished he'd asked her what charm she'd used. "Right outside the Carrow's classrooms?" Neville suggested, speaking in little more than a whisper.

Seamus nodded, and Neville led the way through several more corridors and down two flights of stairs. They heard footsteps ahead at one point, but the sound of nervous giggling made Neville feel safe enough to come out from behind the suit of armour he'd chosen as a refuge. Three girls, second or third year, he thought Ravenclaw, were running away from their contribution to the night's work, and he gave them a small smile as they passed.

Neville reached the corridor he wanted, and for the first time that year he entered the Defence classroom without feeling movement, like snakes twisting, inside his stomach. Quickly he wrote what he wanted on the wall behind the teacher's desk, then hurried along the corridor to the Muggle Studies classroom. _Long live the DA,_ he wrote first. _Hogwarts; proud to educate witches and wizards of all backgrounds,_ he scrawled next. _Muggle-born wizards are not thieves of magic,_ he put next. Soon every blank wall of the classroom was covered in a pro-muggle or anti-Carrow statement; the two boys left quickly, Neville pleased with the night's achievements but beginning to feel a little sleepy.

This last sensation wore off when they found the Carrow brother himself standing guard outside the painting of the Fat Lady blocking the way into the portrait hold. Neville and Seamus retreated, then Neville whispered, "Do you think we should Stun him? I think I could do it."

"Of course you can, sounds like a great idea to me," Seamus said. The two took care to be quiet as they crept down the corridor, dark save for the dim light of a few flickering torches. Before they were close enough for Neville to aim at his target, though, a bang and resounding crash came echoing from the bottom of the staircase at the far end of the corridor, followed by a loud cackle. Professor Carrow didn't glance back as he ran toward the disturbance.

"Peeves?" Neville asked, not waiting to hear Seamus' opinion before dashing towards the portrait hole.

"I think so," Seamus agreed, and the unmistakable laughter of the poltergeist proved him right only moments later.

"We'll have to thank him later," Neville said, then turned to give the password to the Fat Lady. "Remember Professor Dumbledore," he told her, feeling as usual the strange mix of sadness and reassurance that the phrase provided.


	30. Chapter 30

**Chapter Thirty**

December arrived, and snow with it. Luna went out of doors twice on the first Sunday of the month, purely for the pleasure of laying down in the soft blanket and leaving the impression of her body, even if temporarily, on the smooth surface. Hagrid decided that, with the snow to show footprints, it was now too dangerous for the students to walk down to his cabin, so the Support Harry Potter parties were abandoned.

Luna didn't mind this; there was enough going on inside the castle to keep her occupied. As the students' misbehaviour became more frequent, the punishments became more severe. Ginny, who refused to curse her classmates during a Defence lesson and turned her wand on Professor Carrow instead, was given a detention. She told Luna the following day that the seventh year Slytherin boys had taken great pleasure in cursing her whilst the teacher held Ginny's wand.

This was so unfair that Luna didn't know what to say, but it didn't matter. Ginny was more angry than upset or scared, and swore that she would do the same thing again. The two girls then had to drop their conversation as they reached the Ravenclaw table and Luna sat down.

Luna too found herself in trouble on more than one occasion, sometimes for something she'd done and at other times because the Carrows seemed to enjoy it. She found that these unpredictable punishments seemed actually to occur the day after her father produced an edition of the Quibbler. "Maybe they're hoping to scare him by hurting me," she said to Ginny and Neville, as the three waited in the Room of Requirement for the rest of the DA to arrive.

"That sort of makes sense," Neville said. "They've been very harsh with Susan Bones too. I know her aunt was very outspoken, before…" he trailed off, took a deep breath then continued. "Anyway, her father is causing trouble for the Ministry now. And I think there's a third year Gryffindor, too, his mother keeps protesting whenever the Ministry pass another unfair law."

"I'm not going to tell Dad," Luna said. "I don't want him to stop writing. In fact, I'm not going to send him any owls at all. Just one, to say that, so he doesn't worry. They can do what they like to me, and he won't know."

"Are you sure?" Neville asked, but there wasn't time for Luna to reply. She was sure, but didn't say so because the door opened then, admitting the seventh year Hufflepuff girls. After a few subdued greetings, the noise settled into silence. This process was repeated several more times as more people entered; the timings given for DA meetings were always purposely vague. On this occasion Ginny had said, _After dinner,_ knowing that it was better to have the students moving through the castle in small groups than for them to be seen all walking together.

Soon the stragglers, the boys from Dennis Creevey's dormitory, arrived; Luna settled herself more comfortably in her chair as Ginny began to speak. She listened as Ginny first explained the theory they had just been discussing. Two or three people spoke up, saying that they too had heard of someone who was being treated more harshly than the other students and who also had relatives outside of the castle causing trouble for the Ministry. This topic was picked over for a few minutes before the meeting got down to the business that Luna, Ginny and Neville had originally wished to discuss.

"I called you all together to talk about the Christmas holidays," Ginny said. "We need to make the most of them, and come back ready to cause even more chaos here." Luna nodded at this sentiment; Christmas had never been much of a celebration for her after her mother died. "Any ideas?" Ginny asked.

"We need to do something big before we leave," Luna said straight away. "And order as much stuff as we can from the Weasleys' shop. And tell everyone we see that they shouldn't be too scared to fight. They need to stand up to the Ministry, it can't be just us."

"It's not just us," Ginny said. "Harry –" She swallowed, "Harry and Ron and Hermione, they're doing something, they're not just hiding. But I know what you mean. Our families, all the other witches and wizards out there, they can't just let this happen."

Luna smiled in agreement with this; it hadn't been Harry she'd been thinking of.

"Not everyone's as brave as you two," Neville said, and there were nods of agreement from around the room. "Tell us more about Harry," he added, "If you can."

Luna listened with interest, but Ginny didn't have much more to say. "He's doing something on Dumbledore's orders," she explained. "I don't know what, or where, or how long it's going to take. We just need to keep going until he's done."

"Until he's killed You-Know-Who?" asked one of the Patil twins.

Luna saw Ginny's face drain of colour, and spoke up. "It doesn't matter if you believe the stuff about him being the Chosen One. The only thing that matters is for us to give him the chance to do whatever he needs to. Us, and everyone else we can convince."

"I think," Neville interrupted, "We need to be especially careful on Christmas Day." Luna glanced at him, then turned her head in the opposite direction to see that Ginny now looked a little more like her usual self. "They'd love to do something then, something that would interrupt what's meant to be a happy day. If they're planning anything big, they'll probably do it then."

"That's quite smart," Luna told him, and Neville's cheeks flushed red. "It would be more upsetting for everyone, and I bet lots of people would have had far too much Firewhisky, too. They'll be in no state to fight back if anything happens."

"Muggles especially," Ginny said. She had regained some of her colour now, and spoke clearly. "They don't know what's going on, do they?"

"It's up to us to protect them, then," Luna told the crowd.


	31. Chapter 31

**Chapter Thirty One**

With just under two weeks remaining until the end of the term, Ginny again refused to obey a direct order from a teacher. Professor Carrow opened his Defence lesson on Monday morning by stating that the class would be studying the basic uses of blood in Dark magic.

"Purely so we can stop someone stealing our blood and using it," she said sarcastically; Ginny was exceptionally lucky that several Slytherins still settling down in the front row scraped their chair legs on the floor as she spoke, preventing the teacher from hearing her words. She was smart enough not to repeat them, instead swearing under her breath.

"You'll all partner with the person next to you," Professor Carrow instructed. "You'll cut them and drain a medium size glass vial of their blood. It doesn't matter whether you use your wand or a knife to cut, only make sure the blood goes in the vial."

"No," Ginny stated loudly, without even looking at the Hufflepuff sitting on her right side or one of the girls from her dorm on the left.

"What was that, Weasley?" Professor Carrow asked, and there was a glimmer in his eyes that made Ginny wonder if he would actually enjoy their confrontation.

"I said no, Sir," Ginny said, putting as much scorn as she could into this last word. "I'm not cutting anyone, wand or not." She crossed her arms firmly over her chest, noticing as she did so that the Slytherins in front of her, who had at first begun to follow instruction, were now turning to face whoever was speaking.

"If you don't do as I say, I'll collect the blood from you and from your friends," Professor Carrow told her.

"Fine," Ginny snapped, "Cut me open, I don't care, but I'm not going to hurt anyone, unless it's you."

"Did you just threaten me?" Professor Carrow asked, and the amusement in his eyes had suddenly faded. She realised that he was, in fact, very displeased with her.

"You attack anybody, and I'll curse you," Luna called out, "And if you start a duel, most of us are on Ginny's side."

"No, Luna," Ginny snapped, almost as angry at her friend as she was at her teacher; she and Luna had agreed months ago, after all, that they should not appear to be more than acquaintances. "He just wants us all to hurt each other." She realised that what she had said before was true; she was too angry to care how badly the teacher hurt her and would probably not even feel a cut until she had calmed down.

"The rest of you, pair up and do as I told you," Professor Carrow shouted, taking in sharp breaths. "I'll deal with Miss Weasley. Anybody who doesn't, I'll deal with you after." He flicked his wand, and the sleeve of Ginny's robe flew up her arm to bunch around her shoulder. "Sectumsempra!" the teacher spoke quietly now as he moved his wand, cutting slowly into the flesh of Ginny's arm.

The remainder of the students did as they had been told, but Ginny wasn't going to give in so easily. She sat motionless at first, allowing Professor Carrow to do what he would, to let him know he was only able to do so because she permitted it. When at last the curse stopped cutting into her skin she turned and gave a quick look at Luna, eyes narrowed, forbidding her friend to intervene.

Ginny picked up her own wand and Vanished the blood already splattering her desk, not really feeling the pain of the cut yet. She looked at it, trying to judge how deep it was, and when she raised her eyes again Professor Carrow was walking towards her, glass vial in hand. Instantly Ginny pointed her wand at her arm and muttered one of her mother's favourite spells; the wound stopped bleeding instantly. It was still there, a vivid red line showing almost a centimetre of muscle below her skin, but the blood had stopped flowing.

Professor Carrow directed his wand towards Ginny, nostrils flaring in anger, but the strength of his rage was no match for Ginny's. She whipped her own wand up just in time and cast a shield charm; when the teacher broke this she sent his own curse back at him. It was one she'd never used before, had never even heard of, and as such she didn't have the control over it that Professor Carrow had exhibited. The teacher had been able to direct his curse as precisely as if he'd been holding a knife; Ginny's hand shook with rage.

Still, the result was effective. A slash appeared in Professor Carrow's robes, around the level of his right thigh. With the way the fabric billowed around his leg she couldn't see the wound itself, but Ginny knew the curse had worked as intended. The teacher stopped with a grimace, clearly feeling a sudden pain. All around the room the students bled in silence; Professor Carrow stepped forward again with a poorly supressed exclamation.

"Detention again, Weasley," Professor Carrow shouted. He took a few more breaths in an obvious attempt to calm himself. The hand he clenched over his leg trembled as he continued almost as loudly as before. "The largest dungeon, eight o'clock."

Ginny found this barely controlled rage less intimidating than Snape's icy calm, or even McGonagall's stern displeasure. As Luna had already stated, most of the students in the room would take Ginny's side if this was to turn into a serious fight; although some of these might get hurt, they could overpower Carrow and the Slytherins. She choked down her rage, knowing that it would infuriate the teacher more, striving for that sense of calm serenity often displayed by people such as Luna and McGonagall. "And what shall we be doing, Sir?" she asked, starting as politely as she could but again giving the last word as much scorn as possible.

"Stop talking, or I'll Cruciate you now!" the teacher shouted.


	32. Chapter 32

**Chapter Thirty Two**

Neville's Charms lesson on Monday morning went better than usual; although he was unable to perform all of the non-verbal spells Professor Flitwick requested without whispering the incantations under his breath, they did all at least have the desired effects. He spent his Muggle Studies class after break pretending to pay attention whilst also silently levitating a rather large spider into Professor Carrow's empty teacup without out her noticing. He moved the spider slowly, hovering it from one desk to another, and succeeded in completing the task just in time. The squeal that echoed down the corridors moments after Neville had left the classroom was all he could have hoped for.

The following few hours did not go so well. Something had already put the other Professor Carrow in a foul mood before he began his Defence lesson, which was to last the entire afternoon. Neville, having not seen Ginny at lunchtime, didn't know what this was, but he was pleased to see the teacher limping as he walked inside the classroom with his students.

Neville took a seat at the end of the second row of chairs and took the necessary items out of his schoolbag. An idea that had begun formulating in the Charms lesson a few hours previously returned to him and he pointed his wand at the teacher's desk. Professor Carrow had laid his wand down, and was using both hands to search through the drawers for whatever aids he intended using during the lesson.

Neville had never used a Vanishing spell non-verbally until that morning, yet the possibility that he would be unable to do so now never occurred to him. His lips remained still and his eyes narrowed in concentration; a moment later the wand laying on the desk disappeared. It was still there, completely unharmed, but invisible. It was a shame, Neville reflected, that the same spell did not work on people. There were so many more things he, Ginny and Luna could have done if they could have used the Vanishing spell on each other.

It took several minutes for Professor Carrow to realise anything was wrong, by which time Neville had a quill in his hand, his wand carefully stowed in his back pocket. He was copying down the learning objectives for the lesson when Professor Carrow let out a bellow of rage that sounded like nothing more than the bull he had occasionally heard from the muggle farm near to his grandmother's house.

"Which one of you half-blood half-wits stole my wand?" the teacher shouted, causing several students to jump in surprise. "I'll not stand for it, I'll Cruciate the lot of you?"

As Professor Carrow paused to take a breath one of the Slytherin boys spoke up. "Could you try Summoning it, Professor?"

The teacher didn't reply for a moment, and Neville thought he knew what the problem was. A Summoning charm was fairly basic, and a fully trained wizard should be competent enough to Summon a small object located only a few feet away without physically touching his wand, assuming the wand was nearby. Professor Carrow, it seemed, could not. Another Syytherin performed the charm, closing her hand around something she couldn't see and performing the counter-charm before passing the wand back to her teacher.

Neville thought his disturbance had gone reasonably well, or at least he knew that he had both infuriated Professor Carrow and tested his luck sufficiently for one day. He and Seamus returned to Gryffindor tower after the lesson, where they met Ginny near the painting of the Fat Lady. "Good day?" he asked her.

"Not at all," Ginny said. She gave the password, climbed through the portrait hole and indicated that they should go up to his dorm before elaborating. Quickly she told Neville and Seamus what had happened to her that morning. "He was really angry this time, I think he might actually curse me again," she finished.

"Go to McGonagall," Seamus advised, before Neville could find a suitable response.

"No." Ginny shook her head. "I'd get in more trouble with him, and I bet he'd ask Snape to sack her. Snape would like that."

Neville hadn't thought about it before, but he realised that she was probably right; Snape would use any excuse to sack Professor McGonagall and the Carrows would be all too pleased to give it to him. "She already knows what the Carrows are like," he agreed. "Telling her about one more incident won't make a difference."

"She was there," Ginny reminded Seamus, "When they Cruciated those two girls in the Great Hall, remember? The teachers aren't safe either. Like we said the other day, it's got to be all us, we can't go running to McGonagall, or anyone else."

Neville didn't attempt to conceal the fact that he found this a worrying thought, and neither did he make any attempt to remind Ginny and Seamus that the dormitory was probably under some kind of magical observation. The three talked of everything but resistance and the DA, topics they avoided when they were anywhere except the Room of Requirement and occasionally the Great Hall.

Feeling that he had best change the subject before Ginny mentioned something she shouldn't, Neville suggested that the three should go into the common room. "You can tell everyone how unfair it was, this morning," he said, adding, "It might make you feel better," even though this wouldn't be his aim in spreading the story, nor Ginny's. Anything that made the students even more willing to rebel was a good thing, and it wasn't unusual to talk widely of anything that might have this effect.

Neville followed Ginny and Seamus down the stairs. On reaching the common room he found most of the students within gathered around the notice board. The three walked over, Neville certain that the poster they were all reading had not been put up by the DA. As he got closer and began to read the larger writing, he realised what the poster was.

"Dragon dung and rats' brains," Ginny muttered.

"They can't think they'll get away with that," Seamus said.

Neville was inclined to agree with Ginny.


	33. Chapter 33

**Chapter Thirty Three**

Luna returned to Ravenclaw Tower after her Charms class on Monday afternoon to find it almost empty. All of the younger students were completing their final lesson of the day, some of her year group were in a Potions class she didn't take and the seventh years were mostly stuck in a Defence nightmare that they had not expected when they had selected the subject well over a year ago.

Enjoying the tranquillity after what had been a very noisy session with Professor Flitwick, Luna glanced out of the window. The sun was near to setting, the unbroken deep blue sky and gleaming red circle reflected in the calm surface of the lake. The previous night's fall of snow was undisturbed save for a track leading from the front doors of the castle to the greenhouses and another winding down to Hagrid's hut. Solitary trees, their branches bare, cast long shadows. This was different in almost all aspects to most winter days at Hogwarts, when wind rattled the windows and the cloud was heavy. It was a shame, Luna thought, that Ginny would have to serve detention on such a beautiful day.

Luna knew that she couldn't think about that for too long; she had plenty of homework to do. She had nearly as many free periods as she did classes, but she had enough work to fill these. Deciding to practice some of the charms that Professor Flitwick had asked his students to learn, she pulled out both her wand and her textbook. She had worked for about ten minutes when a familiar scraping noise caught her attention.

The door leading out of the common room into the main school stood open, Professor Flitwick himself passing through. "Very good, Luna," the teacher said, nodding approvingly as he realised what she was doing.

"Thank you, sir," Luna said, and tried to smile. There was something hesitant in the way Professor Flitwick moved, some tension around his nose and eyes, that suggested to her that he wasn't happy to be here.

The teacher turned away from Luna and approached the notice board. This was only about half full, Luna's poster encouraging graffiti hidden upstairs in her trunk, but Professor Flitwick hesitated before pulling a piece of parchment out of his pocket. He unrolled this without haste then pinned it swiftly onto the notice board as if he suddenly wanted to be rid of it.

Luna approached, wanting to know what the poster said. She didn't look directly at it as she walked, instead watching the expression on Professor Flitwick's face. "The Professors Carrow requested the Heads of House put these up," he squeaked, then retreated from the notice board. The teacher climbed out of the door, his short legs struggling with the step, and Luna read the notice.

 _Educational Decree Number Thirty Three._ The headline was large and clear, the same as on multiple similar posters already on the notice board. _Supreme authority over all punishments, sanctions and removals of privileges at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry is hereby given to Mr. Amycus Carrow and Ms. Alecto Carrow._

Luna spent the rest of the afternoon alternating between practicing her charms and thinking about the new Educational Decree. The Carrows would now be able to order whatever punishment they chose to any student, maybe any teacher, with whatever provocation they thought fit. They could alter any punishment given by another teacher, should they feel it was not harsh enough. Luna knew well what this rule was likely to mean, as it was clearly modelled on one that Cornelius Fudge, then Minister for Magic, had passed two years before, when Dolores Umbridge had been High Inquisitor at Hogwarts.

As the common room began to fill up, Luna found it more difficult to concentrate. She wanted to discuss the latest development with Ginny, but had no way to arrange a private meeting. She headed to her dormitory, having seen the rest of the girls who slept there all sitting together, shooting admiring glances at Michael Corner as they whispered.

Seated once more in the quiet, Luna tried to think. Given all she had read, once a Protean charm had been performed there was almost no way to change the enchantment. The only quill that would behave as the Master object would be the one Ginny how held, and only the ones bound to it would perform as Mimics. This was the reason, after all, that they had created the quills in the first place; they did not have the Master coin that Harry had used two years previously.

Not for the first time, Luna wondered where this coin was. Did Harry still have it with him, safe in a pocket in case he should need to use it again, as she kept hers? If not, where could it be? Not at the house Harry had stayed at with the muggles; he would have left nothing of importance behind. Where else, then, did she know he had been? As usual, the only place Luna could think of was the Burrow. She'd not mentioned this to Ginny, but if Ginny could find it…

The Master coin would give them the ability to communicate, albeit in a brief, one-sided fashion, with people outside of Hogwarts. They could talk to the members of the DA who had graduated, those who had fled the country or gone into hiding. Even, should Ron or Hermione have their coins and if they should, as expected, be with Harry, they could talk to Harry himself. As usual, Luna dismissed this as foolish. If Ginny found the Master coin at the Burrow, the chances of using it for any practical purpose seemed poor.

Luna reached into her schoolbag then, intending to pick up her wand and continue practicing the charms Professor Flitwick had set. Her hand brushed against the heat of the enchanted quill; immediately she drew it out and placed it on a scrap of spare parchment.

 _Bring all the Decrees to me at breakfast tomorrow,_ Ginny had written. _Anyone who doesn't want to be involved should leave the Great Hall before half past eight. Put up posters to warn everyone there will be trouble. I don't want anyone there who isn't prepared to risk a harsh punishment._


	34. Chapter 34

**Chapter Thirty Four**

Ginny had expected to be angry as she made her way to the dungeons for detention; what she hadn't expected was that she would be completely distracted at the same time. The moment she realised she was too busy imagining the scene in the Great Hall the following morning to feel anything about the impending punishment, she also realised that this was a good thing. She was prepared for what was to come but the Carrows would not be; no matter what they did to her tonight, she would get through it by picturing their expressions when she rebelled again only hours afterwards.

It was worse than Ginny had imagined it could be. The two Carrows were both waiting for her as she entered the dungeon; Amycus Disarmed Ginny, which only made her laugh. "If I was going to disobey, I won't be here," she told him, "And if I was going to curse you, my wand wouldn't have been in my pocket. Scared?"

"Shut up and get against the wall," Alecto snapped. Ginny took a step forwards into the shadows where the teacher had indicated to see that three students were already there, all standing against the far wall of the dungeon with their hands raised above their heads. A chain, moving under the command of Amycus' wand, snaked down from the ceiling and fastened about Ginny's wrists.

"Filch would like this," Ginny said, but her voice wasn't as strong as she would have liked. "Why don't you invite him to the party?" Another swish of Amycus' wand and Ginny had been Silenced. She was able to move her throat, mouth and lips as normal, but no sound came out. It was the first time anyone had performed the charm on her in several months and she found it more disturbing than she remembered.

"Let's start with that one," Alecto said, pointing, "Let the others know what's coming." Ginny thought she had a good idea of what was about to happen, but she also knew that, as the Carrows intended, waiting would not improve the experience.

"Crabbe, Goyle, Nott, Parkinson, come on over," Amycus said, and there was something in his voice that made Ginny shiver. Apparently the Carrows wanted an audience, or so she thought. "Start with that one, Parkinson," he said.

Ginny only vaguely recognised Pansy Parkinson, but she knew the Slytherin girl well enough to dislike her. This feeling intensified as Pansy turned her wand on a third year Ravenclaw girl and, with smug satisfaction written all over her pug-like features, performed the Cruciatus curse.

"That's illegal!" Ginny shouted, or at least she tried to; the Silencing charm was still effective. It came to her a moment later that there had probably been a law passed some time in the last few months lifting the restrictions on the three Unforgivable curses.

The Ravenclaw girl screamed, her legs collapsing out from under her. The chains prevented her from falling completely, but when Pansy lifted the curse, the girl did not get back onto her feet.

Ginny had no choice but to watch and listen as Theadore Nott Cruciated a fifth year Ravenclaw girl, and Gregory Goyle performed the same spell on a second year Hufflepuff boy. Her heart was beating fast and her voice still hadn't returned by the time the boy hung, gasping, from the chains that prevented him collapsing onto the floor. All thoughts of the following morning were forgotten now, and the defiance that had become her driving force was slipping away.

If she'd had a wand, Ginny would have fought back. If she'd had a voice, she would have said something to make the Carrows believe she didn't care about the punishment. She still had one thing, the use of her mind and body. Where the three students previously had struggled against their chains in a vain attempt to free themselves, Ginny looked from Alecto Carrow to Amycus Carrow to Vincent Crabbe, meeting the gaze of each in turn.

Ginny knew it was stupid to do anything that would infuriate the three, but she couldn't stop herself. She gave Crabbe a sarcastic smile and a nod, her attitude saying without words that she was ready.

It wasn't Crabbe's wand that moved first. A slash of Alecto Carrow's own weapon restored Ginny's voice, presumably so they could hear her scream. Crabbe wasn't quick enough to stop her shouting out, "Bring it on!" Ginny took a deep breath then, not sure how much longer she could face the three. Whatever happened whilst Crabbe was cursing her, she would get back up on her feet immediately afterwards.

That was Ginny's last comprehensive thought before Crabbe's curse slammed into her with the force of a dragon's tail striking to kill. Her every joint was being pulled apart, her muscles tightened past their natural limits. Her chest was crushed, her head near to exploding like a rotten pumpkin. She couldn't see, couldn't think, couldn't breathe, couldn't hear anything but the screams tearing from her own throat.

It only lasted for a few seconds, but to Ginny time stood still. She couldn't have said, later, how long she had screamed in agony beyond anything she had ever known, only that when it did come to an end, the after-effects were not much less than the curse itself.

Ginny became aware of the pain in her shoulders and wrists only when the curse lifted. She was, like the other three students, hanging from her chains. She wondered briefly if she was going to be sick, and decided that if she was, she would try to splash the Carrows with the mess. She was not sick; her head pounding Ginny looked up to see both Alecto and Amycus grinning widely.

The pain not forgotten, but ignored as far as possible, Ginny pulled herself to her knees. Her whole body protesting at the effort, she forced herself up onto her feet. Shaking, she glanced to either side. The other three students were still sinking down onto the floor, partially supported by the chains. "Get up," Ginny gasped at them, and was heartened to see that all three immediately made attempts to obey, with varying success.

Ginny turned back to the Carrows. "Go bathe in dragon blood," she told them, her voice nearly as strong as usual.


	35. Chapter 35

**Chapter Thirty Five**

Neville wasn't sure it was smart to obey Ginny's latest orders; he waited up until she returned to the common room partly to discuss these and partly to make sure she was alright after her detention. All thoughts of the planned defiance the following morning vanished when, long past midnight, Neville opened his eyes. He had been dozing in a chair in front of the common room fire but at the sound of the portrait hole opening he woke. Ginny entered slowly, her face pale.

"Come here," Neville said, jumping up and putting an arm around Ginny's waist to support her until she was seated. That she allowed him to do so gave him more cause for concern than her uncertain movements and vacant expression. "What happened?" Neville asked, wishing he had a glass of butterbeer to give to Ginny.

"They made some of the Slytherins Cruciate us," Ginny whispered, and her voice was hoarse. "Then they left me chained up." She raised her hands a little, showing scrapes and bruises circling both wrists.

"Do you want me to take you to Madam Pomfrey?" Neville asked, unsure of anything except that he couldn't heal the damage himself.

"No," Ginny replied. "I want to show everyone."

Neville swallowed the first few responses that came to his mind and asked instead, "Are you still going to do it? Whatever you planned for breakfast tomorrow?"

"Yes," Ginny said, some of her usual intensity returning at the thought. "I'm going to do it. You don't have to be there. I'll wait a few minutes after half past, to make sure everyone who wants to go has left. But if you're there, I'll need help getting everyone involved."

Neville nodded. "I'll do it," he said. "Don't tell me what you have planned, I don't want to know. I just join in, and encourage everyone else to?" He waited for her nod, then continued speaking. "You know we'll all get in serious trouble, if you're planning what I think you are. We could all end up in the dungeons, Cruciated or worse. Did you say the Slytherins did it?"

"Yes," Ginny said sharply. "And they'll do it again before I'm done. I know we're going to get in trouble, everyone knows what they're risking if they stay. I've got another job for you, though, if you're willing."

Neville escorted Ginny to her dorm room shortly after this, where she bid him goodnight. Hoping she would get a good night's sleep, he continued up the stairs to the room he shared with Seamus, who woke when Neville arrived. Quickly Neville recounted everything Ginny had said, then prepared for bed.

It took a long time for Neville to get to sleep. He had never seen Ginny in such a state of shock, had never expected that her strength and defiance could be successfully challenged. He was willing to bet his dress robes that she hadn't allowed the Carrows to see this, and was touched that she had felt safe enough to show her moment of weakness in front of him. All the same he had been relieved to see her regain her usual fire, even if it meant punishment and pain to come.

The following morning Neville woke early, but didn't get out of bed. He would stand with Ginny, no matter the consequences. If he had to face the curse that had taken his parents into insanity, then he would do so. If he was unable to take the pain, then he was only one person in a world much larger than himself. Ginny, and the others who proved stronger than him, would use his hospitalisation, or his death, as a recruitment tool, as fuel to spread the rebellion.

When Neville did get out of bed he prepared himself for lessons as usual. With Seamus, who was also planning to stay for whatever Ginny intended, he walked down to the Great Hall. He munched mechanically on a piece of toast as his watch ticked nearer to half past eight. A few of the younger students scurried out of the room, but most remained, willing to risk the Carrows' displeasure. Snape, Neville saw, was not present. This wasn't unusual, but it was reassuring; there would only be two staff dedicated to stopping whatever was about to happen.

Neville glanced along the table towards where Ginny sat. She appeared to be back to her usual self, and as he watched she reached into her bag to withdraw several pieces of parchment. More, presumably dropped off by Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff students, lay beside her on the table. Neville looked back down at his plate, knowing that Ginny was about to cause some kind of chaos.

The first hint was the smell of something burning. Neville, all senses alert for anything abnormal, knew immediately what Ginny had done. Cheers and applause floated up from the people nearest the burning Decrees, and Neville joined in enthusiastically. If he was here, he might as well be hanged for a dragon as for an egg.

The noise, and the smoke, spread quickly. The fire itself was not large; the disorder was much bigger. A wave of Ginny's wand lifted the flaming Decrees high into the air so it was clear to everyone exactly what she was destroying; those who hadn't been close enough to work out exactly what was going on suddenly understood. The whoops of admiration came now from Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff students too, and for a fleeting moment Neville was reminded of the cheers following the first song at the Yule Ball almost three years previously.

Before Neville could congratulate Ginny, or even begin to fully appreciate the spectacle, the Professors Carrow stood up. That was Neville's cue, the job she had entrusted to him the night before. From a pouch waiting beside his toast he pinched a thumb and finger of Peruvian Instant Darkness powder. He flung this at the staff table, purposely having seated himself nearby.

"Everyone out!" Neville shouted, bellowing to be heard over the din. He stood up but did not flee, pointing other students towards the doors. As Ginny had planned, the Gryffindors, Ravenclaws and Hufflepuffs made their exit. The Carrows, unable to see who had started the disturbance or to prevent anyone from leaving, fired curses blindly in the dark.


	36. Chapter 36

**Chapter Thirty Six**

Luna felt that the morning's disturbance couldn't have gone better. She had played her part, levitating a pinch of Peruvian Instant Darkness Powder over the Slytherin students to prevent them assisting the Carrows in any attempt to regain order. It had been plain to everyone exactly what the students thought of the Ministry Decrees, and nobody had been caught. As she approached her only lesson of the day, Muggle Studies, Luna hummed to herself.

As she took her seat Luna realised that she had less than two weeks left at school before she would return home and see her father. It wasn't the first time she'd had this thought over the previous few days, but it was the first time she remembered that she'd not yet found a suitable Christmas present. Although Luna had never really celebrated since the death of her mother, she and her father still exchanged gifts.

Maybe she would have to resort to an Owl-Order this year, Luna decided. There had been no Hogsmeade trips all term, so she had no reason to believe that she'd be able to go to a shop and buy something before returning home. The Weasleys' joke shop did a mail-order service, she knew, as did most of the shops where witches and wizards could buy practical items such as robes, spell books or necessities like quills.

The issue, Luna thought, was that she didn't know what her father might need, given that she'd not seen him for months. She hadn't written since the final owl saying she was going to stop communication until the holidays, and this made her a little sad. She had already decided not to tell him how dangerous Hogwarts had become, and had no reason to change her mind.

Luna followed that train of thought. Not even the details of Ginny's detention, recounted during the girls' walk to the lesson, could make her break her promise. She wasn't going to tell her father anything, partly so as not to worry him, and partly so he would continue standing up to the Ministry.

The Muggle Studies lesson turned out to be an exceptionally bad one, or would have been had Ginny not set off a dungbomb less than ten minutes in. Luna, unaware of the plan, headed into the corridor with the rest of the class, where she proceeded to perform a bubble-head charm. Grateful for the fresh air, she gave Ginny a smile.

Professor Carrow simply took the students to an empty classroom, where she continued to lecture on the many ways muggles could improve their lives, if they were intelligent enough to do so. Luna didn't take a single note or read the relevant pages in the textbook, but amused herself by rearranging the letters whenever Professor Carrow attempted to write on the blackboard.

For the rest of the week Luna continued to disrupt lessons. She had plenty of homework to do, but still found time to graffiti the corridors, break into the Carrows' offices and plan more chaos with Ginny. She mentioned the Master coin, and Ginny promised to look for it when she returned home. The weekend passed; Neville caused a plague of bats to sweep down from nowhere towards the staff table on Saturday and on Sunday Luna shot an Engorgement charm at Snape's goblet during dinner. It expanded until the base hit his plate and then tipped over, spilling the contents all over the dessert.

Monday and Tuesday passed, leaving Luna with only three more days at school. On Wednesday afternoon she and Ginny both earned detentions, this time for refusing to hex their classmates. Several others also remained stubbornly in their seats, wands on their desks, when instructed to perform the spells; in the end fourteen students from the class walked down to the dungeons that night.

Thanks to Ginny, Luna knew what to expect. The Carrows, or some of the Slytherins, would curse the students who had been given detention. They might use the Unforgivable Curses or use chains as a form of restraint.

Knowing what was to come didn't make it any easier for Luna. She and Ginny were the last pair to receive their punishment, and stood chained with arms above their heads, shoulders aching, whilst around twenty others screamed. This time the Carrows had enlisted only two helpers, who worked as a pair to torture two people at once. As each set of screams died away, Ginny would urge the victims to regain their feet. Luna, knowing how infuriated the Carrows were becoming at this, did her best to aid Ginny; where Ginny barked orders, Luna spoke in tones of soft encouragement.

In providing support to the others, Luna almost forgot that it would soon be her turn. She had been cursed and hexed, charmed and cut by the Carrows over the course of the term, but they had never Cruciated her. Finally the curse lifted from the two students standing to Luna's left, and she knew that she was next.

"Do it, and I'll curse you back," Ginny said to the Slytherin who approached her. "Sometime the Carrows aren't around to protect you. And you," she added to the Hufflepuff next to Luna, "Back on your feet."

"You'll be alright," Luna said, wanting to reach out a hand but unable to. "That's it, stand up, don't let them bully you." She smiled encouragement, then looked at the pair of Slytherins now standing in front of her and Ginny. "I can't stop you now," she said pleasantly, "But if you curse me, you'll regret it."

"You'll pay," Ginny said. "I don't care if you're, what, second year? We will get you back for this."

The two Slytherins hesitated, and Amycus Carrow broke in. "Enough!" he shouted. "You two, free those two Ravenclaws at the end, then leave." The Slytherins turned away from Ginny and Luna to do as the teacher had ordered, and the two Ravenclaw girls, both fourth year, sank to the floor in relief.

Alecto Carrow pointed her wand at the girls, who slid across the floor until they were huddled together in front of Luna and Ginny. "You're going to do it," she said. "Cruciate them, or I'll Cruciate you."

Luna looked at Ginny and without words understood that they were thinking the same thing. "Do it," Ginny said, more quietly now.

"We won't curse you back," Luna agreed, wondering how best to manage this new development.


	37. Chapter 37

**Chapter Thirty Seven**

Ginny walked the Hufflepuff students to their common room at the end of their detention, leaving the Ravenclaws to Luna. The remainder of the Gryffindors were willing to take themselves back to the tower under the guidance of Parvati Patil and Lavender Brown, who were both still shaking but determined to assist the younger students. On ensuring that the Hufflepuffs had reached the correct corridor Ginny turned around, knowing they would not want her to see them opening the entrance to their House.

It took several long minutes for Ginny to make her way back to Gryffindor Tower, during which time she had decided on a response to the Carrows' latest strategy. Quickly she checked on those who had been in detention with her, then she settled down to write another poster. Writing this out took less time than coming up with the correct words, and soon she placed the instructions on the notice board. Although she had Neville take a quick look, she didn't bother waiting to contact Luna; the understanding they had shared in the dungeon was enough to make Ginny certain Luna would agree.

 _The Carrows are making us punish each other during detentions,_ Ginny wrote. _It is not our fault and we must remember who is ultimately responsible. If you are told to curse someone, do as that person instructs. If the Carrows tell someone to curse you, let the other person know what to do. Remember, they are trying to turn us against each other. We must not let that happen. It is also important to stand up as soon as possible after being punished, and to remember that the other teachers can't help._

Next Ginny used the Gemino curse to duplicate the poster and tucked two copies inside her schoolbag to give to Luna and Ernie the following morning. She then took a seat in the same armchair she had used whilst writing, one next to Neville. "It didn't hurt so much tonight," she said, and despite her aching body this was nothing but the truth. "I remember Harry saying something," she said, and she was surprised to find her voice steady, "About the Cruciatus curse. You have to really mean it, when you're casting it, or it's not as powerful. It won't be as bad, if it's not the Carrows or the Slytherins doing it."

Ginny stopped there, unwilling to discuss that particular conversation with Harry any further. Neville might have been at the Ministry that night but, like Ginny herself, he hadn't actually seen Harry attempt to Cruciate Bellatrix Lestrange. It had been a highly illegal move made in a moment of desperation; neither Harry nor Ginny had referred to the incident since the emotionally charged afternoon the following summer when he had first described the duel to her.

It wasn't much later that Ginny went to bed, feeling that the end of the week couldn't come fast enough.

Wednesday passed, leaving only two days of lessons. Ginny hadn't heard of a single student who was staying at the school over Christmas, and the most prevalent topic of conversation, besides the posters now up in three of the four common rooms, was the students' plans for the holidays. Ginny herself intended to eat well, exchange gifts with her family and keep in contact with as many of the DA as possible. She would be unable to do much else, save continue planning her rebellion and search the things Harry had left behind for his Master coin.

Pushing these thoughts out of her mind, Ginny sat down to breakfast on Thursday morning. She ate her toast silently, wondering what Professor McGonagall would teach them during the last lesson of term. Probably something difficult, or a surprise test on everything they had studied over the past few months; McGonagall wasn't the kind of teacher to take things easy because it was almost Christmas. Professor Slughorn might be lenient, though, Ginny considered, and so might Flitwick the following morning. It was sensible to concentrate on her work, Ginny knew, and she headed to the Transfiguration classroom with that goal in mind.

Ginny had not, so far, disrupted a Transfiguration lesson, and nor did she have any intention of doing so. She wasn't scared of McGonagall, precisely, but she both respected the teacher and valued the learning that still took place in this subject. It was a shame that she didn't share this class with Luna, who took Ancient Runes instead; Ginny settled down between a Hufflepuff boy and a girl from her own dorm.

The lesson went much as Ginny had expected, with McGonagall passing around a written test. The students worked on this for the entirety of the morning, stopping one by one for the ten minutes in which the teacher asked them individually to perform a series of spells, then returning to their desks to continue. It wasn't the best way to give both a theory and a practical test, but as there was only the single teacher and limited time, it was the only possible option, Ginny knew.

Five minutes before the end of the session, as planned, McGonagall collected the test papers. She placed these in her desk then took a seat. For a moment she looked silently from one student to the next, then with her gaze on Ginny she began to speak. "I want you all to think, over the holidays, about your behaviour this term," McGonagall said. "This year has been different to what you had become used to under Professor Dumbledore and you need to seriously consider the consequences of your actions."

Ginny was sure that, despite none of the students having complained to her, McGonagall knew something of the Carrows' detentions. She, and the remainder of the class, sat without protest as their teacher continued to speak. Ginny wasn't certain, but she suspected that there was some kind of magical surveillance in the classroom, as in the dorm rooms. The teacher took a deep breath then let it out again; Ginny suspected she had made the decision to accept her punishment for talking to the students in this manner.

"Whatever punishments you earn, you will have to take," McGonagall continued, "So you need to think seriously about what you are doing. I would urge you to set an example to the younger students, and to look after them as well as you can."

Despite the carefully chosen words, it sounded very much to Ginny as if Professor McGonagall did not at all want the rebellion to end.


	38. Chapter 38

**Chapter Thirty Eight**

Neville finished his Herbology lesson on Thursday morning knowing that he had only one Charms session on Friday before the Christmas holidays. He would not have to endure another Defence or Muggle Studies class for several weeks, and in around two days' time he would see his Gran again. He was happier than he had been for the previous few weeks when he went to the Great Hall to eat lunch and this improved mood continued uninterrupted for the entire afternoon, despite devoting several hours to the work Flitwick would expect his students to hand in the following day.

After breakfast on Friday Neville finished the work; not long after that the first term was officially over. He did, of course, have holiday work, but starting this wasn't his main priority. Both Ginny and Luna had free periods on Friday afternoons too; Ginny needed little urging to call on last DA meeting. Neville read the message twice, once as Ginny wrote it sitting next to him then again when he touched the tip of his quill to a spare piece of parchment.

 _As soon as you're out of lessons,_ Ginny wrote. _You know where. Don't panic, nothing's happened, just a final catch up._

Neville watched as several copies of these words burned in the common room fire. Everyone present was a sixth or seventh year, and the few who were not part of the DA could hardly be unaware of its existence. Still, when Neville and Ginny left the common room, the other Gryffindors allowed them to exit alone. The pair didn't talk as they walked, waiting for the security of the Room of Requirement. To Neville's surprise Ginny stopped at the end of the seventh floor corridor, indicating that he should bring the Room into being.

It wasn't the first time Neville had done this, but it was the first time that anyone had watched him do so. He walked three times past the tapestry showing Barnabus the Barmy with his troop of dancing trolls, eyes closed and lips silently moving as he concentrated on what he needed.

Neville opened his eyes; on the wall immediately next to him was the familiar door of dark, polished wood. He reached out a hand to open it, then froze as he heard footsteps. A moment later he had pulled his wand out of his pocket, willing to curse a Slytherin, the Carrows, or even Snape, if necessary.

"It's alright," came a voice, and Neville lowered his wand at once. He opened the door, stepped through and held it long enough for Ginny and Luna to step through. The room was arranged much the same as when Ginny brought it into existence, and the three took their usual chairs. "The other Ravenclaws are coming," Luna said. "They got the message."

"Before anyone else gets here," Neville said, "I wanted to say I still feel the same about the holidays. It would be a good time, Christmas especially, for the Death Eaters to do something big. I mean, if you try to see what they might want. Just be careful, they know where you live, both of you. I don't want anything to happen to either of you."

"They know where you live too," Luna reminded him.

Neville woke on Saturday morning to a mixture of emotions he had not expected. He had known that he would be excited at the idea of a holiday, pleased at the prospect of seeing his Gran, relieved at the knowledge that he would not have to endure the Carrows or Snape for several weeks and slightly sad to be leaving Seamus, Ginny, Luna and his other friends. He wasn't expecting to feel nervous at the idea of leaving Hogwarts, yet this thought made him feel uncomfortable.

Over the past four months Neville had spent a large proportion of his time protecting the school and the students within it, or otherwise doing whatever he could to resist the Carrows. That he wouldn't be around to do this worried him in a manner that he couldn't explain. It wasn't fear for any students who would remain in the castle; for the first time in the history of Hogwarts there were none.

Neville breakfasted with Seamus, Ginny and two girls from Ginny's dorm. Everybody but him kept refilling their plates with more toast, porridge, kippers, eggs, sausages and bacon; Neville found he wasn't hungry. This was happening regularly now, and he now needed to fasten his belt a notch tighter than he had done at the start of term.

The knot of Gryffindors returned to the common room together, then split into their separate dorm rooms to complete their packing. Neville had already placed most of his belongings in his trunk, leaving out only the items that would remain at school over the holidays and a few small things he hadn't got round to throwing in his trunk yet.

Neville and Seamus Levitated their trunks down the stairs into the common room, where they abandoned them with the rest of the Gryffindor trunks. Over the next half an hour this pile grew, until at last every Gryffindor trunk was ready to go.

As if by magic, the portrait hole opened to admit Professor McGonagall. Had Neville not known better, he would have suspected her of covert surveillance; he was sure, though, that any magical eavesdropping within Hogwarts was nothing to do with her. The students crowded around their trunks, talking quietly whilst pretending to listen.

"Another term over," McGonagall said, and the noise level dropped significantly; the teacher continued speaking without pause. "I expect you are all anxious to return to your families. The coaches are ready to take you to the station; please leave quietly, and enjoy a safe holiday."

Neville turned to Seamus as Professor McGonagall exited through the portrait hole. "Who does she think she's kidding?" he asked. "Quietly? Enjoy? Safe?"

"What else could she say?" Seamus countered, speaking in almost a whisper so that Neville had to lean closer to hear. Both boys trusted that the general babble would muffle their words, should the Carrows be listening. "They're watching her, too. They know she'd like nothing better than to throw Snape out."

"She would have made a good Headmistress," Neville agreed, feeling a sudden rush of pride. This term, Neville thought, he had at last earned his place in McGonagall's House.


	39. Chapter 39

**Chapter Thirty Nine**

When Luna exited the castle through the heavy oak front doors she found that it was snowing. She and the girls from her dorm walked together across the grounds until they reached the coaches that would take them to the Hogwarts Express. She gave the Thestral pulling her coach a quick stroke on the neck, and it gave her ungloved hand a lick with its long tongue. Smiling, she entered the coach, and sat listening to her friends as they talked.

When at last the coach arrived at Hogsmeade station Luna alighted. She didn't know if Ginny and Neville were already aboard; the three had agreed that the first to arrive would reserve an empty carriage. Opening her eyes wide against the snow, she looked up and down the platform and through the windows until she saw a flash of red that, even blurred by condensation and snowflakes, could only be Ginny's hair.

Luna joined Ginny, Neville and Seamus, who were talking quietly of their holiday plans. She opened the latest edition of the Quibbler, which was already beginning to look a little ragged, and stopped reading only to look out of the window. Once she finished the magazine she tucked it away and watched the two boys, who were testing defensive spells against each other's enchantments.

This entertainment was interrupted by the lunch trolley; Luna bought herself two pumpkin pasties and a chocolate frog. The snow had stopped, she saw, leaving the fields outside only thinly covered. The train moved too quickly for her to notice much detail, and she returned her attention to the compartment she was sitting in.

By mid-afternoon the light began to fade. Luna and Ginny were swapping ideas for the following term when the train began to slow. Luna pulled out her wand. "Not more Dementors," she said, thinking of the journey to school back in September.

"No," Ginny said. "They were looking for Harry, before, why would they come back now?"

"You're right," Luna agreed. "They can't think he's on the train. It's something else, they're after someone else."

"But who?" Ginny asked. "Snape or the Carrows could have had any of us, any time, just invited us to a detention, Disarmed us…"

Luna thought for a minute as the train continued to slow, but by the time it had come to a stop she hadn't worked out what was going on. All four students looked out of the window to see a derelict platform, with muggle rubbish overflowing in the bins and the station name wiped magically from the plaques that usually bore it.

"This isn't good," Neville said quietly, indicating a group of hooded and masked figures waiting on the edge of the platform. One raised a wand to the train, and a door two compartments along burst open. Together the Death Eaters entered. "Should we fight?"

"Yes," Luna said, but Ginny spoke more loudly still. "We can't let them hurt anyone, it's no different to the Carrows really," she said.

"There's half a dozen of them, and we don't have time to get the DA together," Neville said.

"Then come with me," Ginny said. "We'll collect who we can, and when we meet them we curse first."

Luna, Neville and Seamus stood and followed Ginny into the passageway along the centre of the train. Everyone else had remained in their compartments; there was nobody to be seen in either direction. Wands high, they moved quietly along the corridor, looking cautiously into each compartment as they went. Lavender Brown, Parvati Patil and Parvati's Ravenclaw twin Padma joined the group, but they found no more of the older students or members of the DA before discovering the Death Eaters themselves.

"Anything but the Killing Curse," Ginny whispered. "This isn't practice." Luna nodded, as did the seventh years. "Expect them to fight back." She raised a wand to the door, but it opened without her assistance.

"Further up," grunted the first Death Eater as he stepped through the door, turning back to look at his companions as he did so. He was tall, with a large nose; Luna saw no more before he collapsed under the effects of seven different curses, hexes, jinxes and charms.

The remainder of the Death Eaters weren't so easily vanquished. Luna particularly enjoyed the combination of Ginny's Bat Bogey hex with Neville's Tongue-Tying curse, but thought the pairing of her own Jelly-Legs jinx with Lavendar's Levitation charm was also an interesting one.

Three of the Death Eaters still in the compartment went down quickly, but they had shielded their companions from the worst of the spells cast by the DA. There were still half a dozen standing, more than Luna had expected. One of these, a squat witch with bushy hair that couldn't be confined by her hood, blasted the afflicted Death Eaters out of her way, unblocking the door.

Luna raised her wand again, then paused, surprised, as she heard Ginny using an Unforgivable curse. A moment later she shot her own Cruciatus curse, something she had not done before. Luna had always refused when ordered by the Carrows, for the simple reason that the much younger students she was meant to be punishing had been too afraid to allow it. This had always kept the younger students safe, as the Carrows always focused their rage on Luna, but it hadn't allowed her any practice at what was actually quite a difficult spell to master.

Luna shot her Cruciatus curse, which brought one of the standing Death Eaters to his knees. It wasn't as effective as she would have liked; quickly he struggled to his feet. There were four still standing now, and one lowered her hood to reveal eyes sunk deep into the well of insanity beyond.

"Come to play, have you?" Bellatrix Lestrange taunted. She was unhurt, and smiling widely. "You should play more often, learn from each other. I told Harry, you have to mean them. The Unforgivable curses? I don't think the Ministry will be happy with you."

"Eat dragon dung, you limp-wand murderer!" Ginny bellowed, and the Cruciatus curse that followed was stronger than any yet used. Bellatrix stopped laughing and slashed her wand with such violence that Ginny retreated a step, blood flowing freely from her right cheek. Her companions struck too, leaving Ginny, Neville, Parvati, Lavender and Padma writhing on the floor. Luna knew, then, that the Death Eaters truly had only been playing, until now.

"Don't be shy," Bellatrix taunted, "It's you we want, Lovegood."


	40. Chapter 40

**Chapter Forty**

Ginny's head ached. Her first thought as she came to her senses was that it might actually be possible for her brain to explode out of her skull; it certainly seemed to be making a serious attempt. She kept her eyes closed, aware that the surface she was laying on was not actually moving, and that she would feel even worse if her eyes were to show her brain the truth of this. Slowly memory began to return.

Without thinking about how sensible it might be, Ginny sat up quickly. She was unstable, rocking from side to side as the train shifted along underneath her, but opening her eyes didn't affect her too much. She remembered now, and looked around in panic. The train had stopped. Death Eaters had boarded. She had led a small group against them. Bellatrix Lestrange had been jeering.

Ginny understood that she had been on the receiving end of a powerful spell, probably dark magic, a curse that she'd never come across before. She didn't recall falling, or know what had happened to her friends. She turned her head from side to side, looking to see how badly hurt they were.

Two shapes lay to Ginny's right. Neville, blinking slowly, and Seamus, his hair singed but his breathing regular and even. On her left, three shapes were stirring. Lavender, Parvati, and Padma. All three shifted slightly on the floor, beginning to regain their senses. Ginny wanted to reassure them, but further movement or comprehensive speech seemed to be beyond her.

There was something wrong, Ginny felt. Something very wrong. All five of her friends were alive, and beginning to wake just as she had done; it wasn't that. They had lost the duel, but it wasn't that either. Against ten Death Eaters, what hope had seven teenagers had? Seven. At this, Ginny took another look around. Three girls to her left, two boys to the right and herself. That made six.

Luna was nowhere in sight. Ginny cared nothing that the Death Eaters had also vanished; what bothered her was that there was no trace of her friend. Could Luna have pursued them, and what had they wanted? Unless Luna herself was what they had wanted, Ginny acknowledged. She struggled to her feet, and felt Neville do the same beside her.

"Where is she?" Neville croaked, and Ginny had to shake her head. She had no answer.

"Can you get up?" Ginny asked, but it wasn't a real question. Both were almost there, and both had recently had too much practice at ignoring the pain, the dizziness and the sickness left once a powerful curse lifted. "I'm looking for her."

Ginny and Neville left Seamus and the three girls laying where they were, reassured that they were all coming to their senses, and stepped out into the corridor. "Let's not split up," Neville said.

"I don't think the Death Eaters are still here, we're moving again," Ginny said, but all the same she was reassured by the presence at her shoulder as she looked into one compartment after another.

Ginny and Neville searched the entire train, but there was no sign of Luna.

Several hours later the Hogwarts Express pulled into Kings Cross, drawing into the platform under a grey curtain of rain. Ginny had given up looking for Luna in favour of discussing her disappearance with Neville, Seamus and the three seventh year girls. Ginny sent a message using her Master quill, asking Luna herself or any of the DA with information to tell her as soon as possible; this had bought no response save for a visit from Ernie MacMillan, Susan Bones and Hannah Abbot. The Hufflepuffs had no answers, but asked questions until Ginny snapped at them to go away and find out for themselves.

Ginny stepped onto the platform and nearly ran towards her parents, who stood with a small group of witches and wizards not far from the magical barrier separating Platform 9 ¾ from the muggle station. Her trunk dragged on the floor, scraping loudly, a noise barely audible over the general din. Standing beside her mother was Kingsley Shacklebolt, and next to him, Xenophilius Lovegood.

Slowing as she approached, Ginny went first to Luna's father. Her own father, sensing that something was seriously wrong, remained where he stood, allowing Ginny to do what they both saw to be necessary. Her mother, on the other hand, ran to envelop Ginny in a hug. Embarrassed and impatient, Ginny shrugged her off.

"Mr. Lovegood," Ginny said, and a pair of pale yellow eyes focused somewhere above her head. Knowing this was the best she was going to get, Ginny continued speaking. "Death Eaters got on the train," she said. "They took Luna. We don't know where she is."

Xenophilius didn't answer, but began to play with the buttons on the cuff of his daffodil jacket. Ginny's mother gasped. "Death Eaters took Luna?" she asked, a firm hand turning Ginny towards her. "Look at you!" she gasped.

"I'm fine," Ginny snapped, suddenly aware of the dried blood on her cheek and the ragged hair sprouting in all directions from her head. "Dad," she said, hoping to get some sense out of least one of the adults, "Dad, it was Bellatrix Lestrange who led them. I don't think they killed her, Luna, they didn't leave her body and there wasn't much blood."

Xenophilius Lovegood dropped to his knees, and began to wail great, gasping sobs. Kingsley stepped over to him, speaking quietly and calmly as if talking to a nervous dog, but his dark eyes focused on Ginny.

"The train stopped," Ginny explained without prompting. "The Death Eaters got on, a small group we thought. We didn't know what they wanted, so we were ready for them." She deliberately failed to mention that some of the DA had gone in search of the Death Eaters, knowing that the negative reactions to this would range from horror to disapproval. "We fought back, and took down four really quickly, then we saw there were six left. Bellatrix Lestrange joined in then, laughing at us, then she cursed me."

"We were all knocked out," came a voice from behind Ginny, and a hand descended on her shoulder with a firm grip that didn't belong to her mother. Neville finished the story. "We woke up and they were all gone. The Death Eaters, and Luna."

A few feet away from Ginny, Xenophilius Lovegood continued to wail.


	41. Chapter 41

**Chapter Forty One**

Neville couldn't remember ever feeling so incapable. "She was my friend, Gran," he said, once they had arrived home.

"She still is your friend, Neville, don't talk nonsense," came the reply. "You're not a stupid boy, don't start now."

Neville wasn't sure if this came to a compliment or not, but he found he didn't care either way. "They've taken her, and even if we get her back, if she's still alive, she'll never be the same again," he said. "And I can't see how – "

"If they wanted to kill her they would have done it on the train, and if anyone has the ability to manage imprisonment, it's Xenophilius Lovegood's daughter," Gran said firmly. "Now, did you want gammon or cottage pie for dinner?"

"Gammon, please," Neville answered, fully aware that there was no point in pushing the conversation further. He helped with the cooking, and when the pair sat down to eat he found he had a little appetite. He then retired to his room on the pretext of needing to unpack.

There was no fresh message from Ginny, and Neville left his quill beside his bed with his wand and Remembrall. Over the course of the following few hours he did begin his unpacking, but spent more time thinking, or brushing his hand over the quill in the hope of feeling it heat.

As hard as Neville tried, he couldn't see how to rescue Luna. His only knowledge was that she had been taken by a group of Death Eaters led by Bellatrix Lestrange. Would Luna still be with her, or would Voldemort himself have taken possession of Neville's friend? It didn't matter, as Neville didn't know where Bellatrix or Voldemort was hiding. What Neville did know was that she was as ruthless and cruel as he, with a desire to please her master that overrode any lesser considerations.

Maybe it was only Neville's family history that made him as wary of Bellatrix Lestrange as of He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named, but all the same he felt that Luna was no better off in her hands than in his. He found himself then thinking of his parents, of the regular trips to St. Mungos that had dominated his school holidays ever since he had started at Hogwarts. Would they go this year, given the danger of leaving the house? After all, his parents wouldn't know that it was Christmas, and they wouldn't know that he was their son.

These thoughts cycled back to Luna, who had never met Neville's parents. As far as he was aware, she didn't know what Bellatrix had done to them, yet Neville was sure she would have something oddly comforting to say on the matter. After all, she had lost her own mother, he remembered, in some kind of magical accident he'd never heard her talk about in detail. If anyone had the strength, he thought, to survive being captured by Death Eaters, it was Luna.

It was frustrating beyond belief that there was nothing Neville could do to help her.

Neville slept poorly that night, and for the first week of the holidays. He skimmed through the Daily Prophet every morning with his breakfast, knowing that there would be nothing reported accurately but hoping to read between the lines. There was no mention anywhere of Luna, of Bellatrix, of Xenophilius Lovegood, or of Voldemort himself. The entirety of Neville's news came from an old wireless belonging to his Gran; the two huddled next to this every evening in the hope that Potterwatch would be broadcast.

This rebel program, fronted and contributed to by voices which, in some cases, Neville recognised, brought together and plainly presented any news or information regarding Voldemort, the Ministry and the Death Eaters that had occurred since the previous episode. It was not reliably on air at any given time, but seemed to be available every evening that it was safe to broadcast. A password was required, and given out at the end of each show for the following one.

Most of the show made for difficult listening, being reports of disappearances, disasters and death, but still the reporters made certain to include stories of last-minute escapes and unexpected courage. It was a collection of everything the Ministry as trying to suppress, and Neville regretted only that he couldn't join in. It would have been a boost to everyone, had he been able to pass on details of how the resistance within Hogwarts was causing chaos and causing discomfort to the Carrows.

Neville wasn't sure how far this news would spread on its own. He didn't mention much to his Gran, not wanting to worry her when there was nothing she could do to help. Either he was going back to school at the end of the holidays, or he was not. The first would mean placing himself back under the control of the Carrows, the second would mean breaking the law and going on the run.

Many of the DA were also, Neville knew, not going to report the reality of Snape's regime or the Carrows' punishments to their families, who could only be upset to no good purpose. They would simply have to continue their efforts the following term, and look after one another as best as they could. This, Neville knew, would be far more difficult without Luna.

By Wednesday there was still no news. Ginny sent a message to the DA via the enchanted coins, giving the update that there was no further news from Xenophilius but that she herself was safe. Ginny urged the DA to listen to Potterwatch and to ignore any news reported in the Daily Prophet. _You should all also know,_ Ginny wrote, _We will only communicate in the old manner, and include old members of the DA. I don't know who still has theirs, and there is still no way of anyone else writing back. For now I will send all further messages using this method, as the Death Eaters have Luna's quill._

From this Neville understood that Ginny now had possession of the coin Harry had used two years before. He had assumed that Harry still had this, and wondered now about Hermione and Ron. He took his coin out of his pocket to see Ginny's message inscribed around the outside, the letters scrolling as he read, and clenched his fist around it.


	42. Chapter 42

**Chapter Forty Two**

Luna awoke some time later. She was laying in the dark, on a cold, hard surface. She was thirsty, and her head ached a little. Not much, but enough to quell her hunger. More importantly, she needed to find a bathroom. Luna felt in her pocket, intending to take out her wand, but could feel nothing. "Lumos," she whispered, and a flame of light appeared in her hand. "Accio wand!" she tried, but there was no response. She had known there wouldn't be, had known from the moment it had been her palm, not her wand, that had lit. Still, she could see.

The room was large, but cool and sparsely furnished. Luna slowly appraised a jug of water, a chamber pot, and what appeared to be the body of an old man lying on the floor. Luna stood up then, all thoughts of her bladder temporarily forgotten. Before she could take a step, the figure on the floor stirred.

Luna hurried over, wanting to help the old man in any way she could. "Hello?" she asked, the single word inviting the old man say what he wished.

"They took your wand, then?" the man said, turning to face Luna. She knew the voice, and when she saw the face she was able to place it.

"Mr. Olivander?" she asked. "Yes, they did, I can't do much without it. Are you alright? It's a bit gloomy here, isn't it?"

"They took mine, too," Olivander replied. "I'm not hurt, just hungry. They feed me, but not enough." Luna stepped closer, and the old man's face became clearer. There were numerous half-healed cuts and bruises on his papery skin, which was itself stretched tightly over his cheekbones and jawline.

"Who are they?" Luna asked, ignoring this blatant lie for the moment.

"I've only seen two. A man, middle aged, with a silver hand." Olivander stopped for a moment to take a deep breath. His voice was raspy, as if his throat was dry. "And a boy, about your age, thin, blond hair."

"A boy? Hogwarts age?" Luna asked. "Can't be a muggle-born, the Death Eaters wouldn't… or they might, as a servant." She stopped talking , turning her thoughts over in her head now. It might be a muggle-born, or someone who had left Hogwarts in the previous year or two after completing their education. "I'm sorry they got you," she said.

"I'm sorry too," he said, with something close to a smile on his lips.

"Do you mind looking the other way, for a moment?" Luna asked, waving her hand towards the chamber pot. He nodded, and a moment later her business was compete. "So," she said, rearranging her clothing, "There's no way out?"

"Just the one door," he indicated it, "And no windows. I think we're underground, I've seen stairs on the other side of the door."

"Can you Apparate?" Luna asked. "I was meant to learn this year, but they're not doing that any more. I've only ever Apparated with my Dad. And with a wand."

"Not in here," Olivander said, shaking his head. "I tried, when I first got here. I can Apparate, even without a wand, but I think there's a Disapparation jinx on the place."

"Looks like we're stuck," Luna said. "At least, until my friends get here."

At first Olivander seemed very interested, and over the next hour she told him almost everything she knew about Harry, Ron, Hermione, Ginny and Neville. The longer they talked, the less interested he became.

"They don't know where we are, do they?" he asked, eventually, and Luna was forced to agree with this.

For the rest of the evening Luna looked around the room and considered her situation. In addition to her wand, her entire trunk was missing. That left her with only the objects in her pockets and her watch. Although it was pleasant to have her dirigible plum earrings and a knot of her mother's hair, they weren't going to help her to break out.

The walls of the chamber were smooth stone, hollowed out of the ground and unbroken save for the single door. There were brackets for torches, but no torches in them. If they couldn't Apparate, the only exit would be through the door. This was locked, and would not open to Luna's whispers of, "Alohamora!" She didn't know if this was because it was enchanted, or because her spell was not functioning correctly without her wand. The door itself was solid and well-made with a series of locks on the outside that she could not see, but which prevented her from moving it even an inch.

"What do you do," Luna asked, "To pass the time? When you get bored? I think we're going to have to wait for rescue."

Olivander gaped at Luna, his eyes wide. It was a look she often got when talking of wrackspurts, crumple-headed snorckacks and other rare or elusive creatures, and she ignored it.

"You must do something," Luna said. "Maybe not much, without a wand. But you can still sing or dance or pretend you're somewhere else."

"Oh, child," Olivander said, "You'll realise soon enough, there's nothing you can do in this place without it driving you insane."

"Don't worry," Luna told him. "All the best people are a little crazy. It really doesn't matter." She turned away, humming, and began another exploration of the stone walls. A chuckle sounded from behind her, and she looked back over her shoulder at the old wand-maker.

"Maybe you're right," Olivander said. The smile that touched his lips spread to his eyes this time. "If there's no way out of here, we'll have to amuse ourselves until we get out."

"Until we get out," Luna repeated. It was a comforting thought, and one that she kept in her mind as she walked slowly around the chamber. She explored the ceiling and floor, then took inventory of her pockets. Deep inside one, her fingers closed upon something small, flat and circular. "Good," she said, bringing the Galleon into the light still coming from her left palm. "It's still here. Maybe we can talk to someone on the outside, after all."


	43. Chapter 43

**Chapter Forty Three**

Ginny knew that she could not again use her enchanted quill to send messages to the DA. The Mimic that Luna had used all of last term was now in the hands of the Death Eaters, and Ginny wasn't going to risk them finding out what it did, let alone communicate any information that they would be able to read. She regretted her use of the quills on the Hogwarts Express, but she didn't know what else she could have done.

When at last Ginny and her parents arrived at the Burrow she dragged her trunk up the stairs, then continued up almost to the top of the tall house to Ron's room. Blinking at the bright orange robes of the Chudley Cannons quidditch players covering the walls, she headed across to the camp bed where Harry had spent the summer.

The room was disorganised, even more so than her own usually was. Ginny picked up odd socks, discarded spell books, stale Owl Nuts, potions ingredients that had in some cases begun to go bad with the passing of time and other oddments that Harry and Ron had not taken with them. She opened a notebook to see Harry's familiar writing, tall and legible but by no means neat. The words blurred before her eyes and she shut the notebook, tossing it then away from her as she continued to search.

It appeared to Ginny that the only clean and tidy items in the room were the trunks that Harry and Ron had not, this year, taken to Hogwarts. Ginny saw Hermione's hand in this; no doubt she had made the two boys unpack everything to ensure that nothing useful was forgotten. They would never, of course, have managed this without help from a girl.

This thought gave Ginny a moment of light relief, a fleeting smile that faded quickly as she looked away from the trunks to the rest of the room. Even if the coin she was looking for was here, she had little chance of finding it. The time had come, she decided, to rebel a little more. It didn't matter that she wasn't allowed to do magic outside of school until her birthday in August; the Ministry would never know that it wasn't her parents casting spells. More importantly, assuming she was discreet, her mother would never find out.

"Accio coins," Ginny said quietly, her hand in her pocket around her wand. Almost instantly several objects rose through the mess on the floor and zoomed towards her other hand, palm outstretched to receive them. Ginny waited until all movement had stopped, then began searching through the small handful.

Most of the coins, Ginny disregarded immediately. More than half were bronze Knuts, which she dropped onto the floor. Three silver Sickles followed, leaving only one coin, a fat golden Galleon. Ginny turned this over in her hand, hardly daring to believe it, then took a deep breath. She looked at the numbers around the edge of the coin, and felt the breath leave her body in a sigh of relief. She recognised the time and date of the last DA meeting Harry had organised; in her hand she held the Master Galleon, and she thought she knew how to use it.

It took Ginny several days to send a message to the DA via the enchanted coins, partly because she had little time to herself and partly because she wasn't certain of how best to change the numbers to the message she wished to send. At last, on Wednesday, she had composed a message, escaped from her mother long enough to write it and worked out how to do so. One of Harry's old textbooks mentioned the Protean charm, and with the aid of this she sent an update to the members of the DA.

Ginny was frustrated that she couldn't do more. She couldn't help Luna, she couldn't leave the protective charms around the Burrow and she couldn't even sit in her room for more than a few minutes without Mrs. Weasley interrupting.

"I'm fine, I don't want a cup of tea, no I'm not using magic outside of school and of course I've not heard anything from Luna, I would have said," Ginny snapped, after the third inquiry in less than an hour. "I'm not coming downstairs, there's nothing to do there anyway, I'm not going anywhere unless you let me go out shopping. You won't get a Christmas present otherwise."

As usual, this argument failed to persuade Mrs. Weasley that Ginny should be allowed to visit Diagon Alley. With only two days remaining in which to buy her gifts, Ginny was worried that this last threat would become a reality. She eventually obtained a recording of Celestina Warbeck's latest songs via owl-order for her mother, and used the instructions in a muggle magazine to get her father a selection of muggle tools. She had these delivered to the post office in Ottery St. Catchpole, and collected them under her mother's supervision. Her older brothers were somewhat more difficult to please, but by the evening she had ordered something for each of them save Percy and Ron. He was left out, as were Harry and Hermione, for the simple reason that she didn't know if it would be safe for them to have a gift-bearing owl near wherever they were hiding.

Ginny would have liked to get something for Neville and Luna too, but as she had no way of contacting the latter, she felt it wasn't fair to celebrate with the former. Christmas would be a strictly family affair this year, she knew, and there was likely to be little cheer. Some of her brothers would come home for the day, some wouldn't. It was probable that Bill would bring Fleur, which didn't make Ginny feel any better about what was to come.

Christmas day dawned wet and windy. Ginny woke late, and only went down to breakfast because it was easier than having an argument with her mother over such a trivial issue. She ate her bacon sandwiches mechanically, thinking of all the people who would not be there to celebrate with her this year.


	44. Chapter 44

**Chapter Forty Four**

"Seems young Xeno Lovegood's lost his nerve," Neville's Gran said, when Neville walked into the kitchen for lunch on Christmas eve.

"What do you mean?" Neville asked. "And are there any more sandwiches?"

"See for yourself." She passed Neville the latest edition of the Quibbler, which he hadn't yet seen. All thoughts of food vanished from Neville's mind as he read the front page. This took him a matter of seconds, given that there were very few words and that he had seen the same photograph many times before, in the Daily Prophet. It was the Ministry's poster advertising a reward for information about Harry, and Neville had more than had enough of it.

"Do you think they threatened him?" Neville asked, but he already knew the answer. For a long time Xenophilius Lovegood had been a vocal supporter of Harry, and for the last few months the Carrows had been especially harsh towards Luna. Now they had captured her, and were probably using this to control him.

Gran didn't bother to answer. She picked up a corned beef sandwich, indicating with her other hand that there was a plate for Neville on the sideboard. Neville wandered over, thinking. As long as the Death Eaters wanted to use Luna as leverage over her father, she had to be alive. The moment she died, she lost her value. This didn't mean, he thought, that she had to be kept safe, or that they wouldn't kill her quietly and forget to mention this small detail to Xenophilius.

Neville continued flicking through the Quibbler, wanting to see if the rest of the magazine was also following the Ministry line. By the time he had eaten two ham and pickle sandwiches, he had surmised that the Death Eaters had control over the entire publication; it seemed that Xenophilius Lovegood no longer had the courage to stand up to the reigning powers.

"They won't let her go, will they?" Neville asked. "He's got what he wants, You-Know-Who, but he'll still keep her to make sure her father co-operates."

"Yes, the Death Eaters will keep her, but it won't be forever. And you're not to go looking for her, understand? No wizard still at school could find her, let alone free her, so put the thought out of your mind."

Neville couldn't honestly say that he agreed with this last clause, so he said nothing, choosing instead to pick up a cheese sandwich. It was true that he didn't have a clue where to start looking, and he wished he had some proper way to communicate with Ginny on the subject without risk of a message being intercepted. "I think I'm going to go do some homework," he said, once he had finished the last few crumbs. "Professor Sprout set us some research and three essays."

"Don't neglect your other subjects," his Gran reminded him, and there was a severity to her tone that hadn't been there before. Again Neville couldn't say what he wanted to, so he remained silent as he walked over to the sink.

"Tergeo," he muttered, and the smears of pickle cleaned themselves from his plate. A quick glance showed that the entire surface was clean, so without repeating the spell he put the plate into the cupboard and left the kitchen.

Neville woke on Christmas day feeling unsettled. He was looking forward to a good meal, and to exchanging gifts with his Gran, but there were many other things that he was less pleased about. He was worried that the Death Eaters might be planning a big attack for the occasion where people would be celebrating, sad that Luna would have to spend the day alone and anxious still to get back to school.

The day started with a visit to some of Neville's great-aunts and great-uncles; with assistance from his Gran he apparated from one house to the next, always appearing and disappearing just outside the front garden. This was partly because of the protective enchantments, and partly because it felt rude to enter a house itself without invitation.

Neville ate a large amount of cake and drank several bottles of butterbeer over the course of the morning. He left his great-uncle Algie, who had given him a bottle of fudge flies for Trevor the toad, and took hold of his Gran's hand once more. "Where to this time?" he asked.

"Your parents," his Gran replied. "I think it no less safe than anything we've done so far today. Should we meet Death Eaters at St. Mungos, you may use whatever spells you can think of to defend yourself."

"If you're sure it's sensible to be out in Muggle London, and at the hospital," Neville said quietly. Visiting always left him with a mix of emotions that he couldn't describe, and he was fully aware that his mum and dad would be unaware that it was Christmas day. Every time he saw them he tried to take a gift, even though they never knew why and probably forgot or lost the small presents shortly after he left.

"You're not going to make this difficult?"

"No," Neville said. "I don't think it's safe, but it's no worse than being at home. Let's go, then." He tightened his grip, twisted on the spot and felt the familiar compression, as if his whole body was being squeezed like a tube of toothpaste. When he opened his eyes he was standing in a narrow, empty street cluttered with litter. The very air smelled foul, a mix of rotting cigarette ends and car exhaust; Neville knew instantly that they had arrived somewhere in London as planned.

Together Neville and his Gran walked for about five minutes, the route becoming busier as they progressed. There were very few muggles about, but the number of witches and wizards increased as they drew closer to their destination. When at last the two had reached the shop window and given their names to the manikin on guard, they stepped through the glass into the reception beyond.

As usual the room was noisy and full; Neville and his Gran ignored the Welcome Witch at the desk and made their own way to the private ward where his parents lived.


	45. Chapter 45

**Chapter Forty Five**

Severus Snape was gratified that none of the students in his care had chosen to remain at Hogwarts over the Christmas holidays. They were a tedious chore and a dangerous distraction, as well as being impolite and a general nuisance. He was certain that no other Headmaster of the prestigious school had ever had to manage such a handful of arrogant rebels, and he also knew that he had in part himself to blame. Snape was fully aware that there was barely a single person in the castle who liked him, and not one that he could trust.

At present, Snape was almost alone. Both Carrows remained, as did Minerva McGonagall. The other staff had returned to their families, or found other places to go; Snape didn't care, and hadn't inquired. It would have pleased him better had he been the only person staying at Hogwarts over the next few weeks. Still, there were tasks that needed doing, no matter the possible cost.

Snape wrapped himself in a travelling cloak, hood pulled up to shade his face. He had told nobody where he was going, and had no intention of letting them know he had left the grounds. It was late in the evening, so not even the portraits on the wall of his study were awake to see him disappear with a swish of his cloak down the spiral staircase. Silently and swiftly he moved through the school and, no more than a shadow, he slipped through the front doors. Wizards put so much emphasis on magical concealment that, at times, they forgot the utility of a black cloak on a dark night.

The long gravel driveway was not lighted, but Snape did not illuminate his wand. He was perfectly capable of walking smoothly, and had anybody been present and able to see in the clouded moonlight he would have appeared almost to glide along the rough surface. On reaching the gates at the end of the path Snape paused. He took a moment to remind himself of what he was doing and why, but only a moment. The observer, had any been nearby, would have assumed that Snape was doing no more than drawing his wand. This he did, and with the aid of a non-verbal spell he stepped straight through the wrought-iron gates. His lips did not move; they had no need to do so, his mastery of the magic being complete.

Snape felt the tingle of the protective enchantments as he passed outside their range, a pace further on. These were many and complex, being created by the teachers of Hogwarts and augmented by his own spells. Most of the students had shivered, crossing that magical barrier, yet Snape strode smoothly forwards, his mind on the task ahead. He was not foolish enough to believe he was safe either outside the enchantments or within.

When he found a suitable patch of even ground, only a few steps away from the enchantments and the great gates, he twisted sideways, disappearing into the still night air with his attention on his destination.

Snape allowed himself no time to recover from the unpleasant sensations of apparition, but with his wand still raised he continued spinning until he had completed a full circle, taking in everything around him. He was in a narrow country lane not far from his eventual destination, but this he had never doubted. He knew now that there was nothing larger than a rabbit alive within his immediate surroundings; this was neither reassuring nor worrying.

The Order of the Phoenix believed Snape to be a traitor, and Voldemort had never displayed a significant amount of trust in any of his Death Eaters. Should Snape fall he would be mourned by neither party, and both were more than capable of arranging such an event. There was not one, save for Voldemort himself, who could match Snape in a duel, but chivalrous notions of this sort were weakness. He was walking a fine line, and every moment could be his last.

Still Snape proceeded, walking along what soon became clear as a long driveway leading to a manor house. He knew it well, having visited on multiple occasions, and he looked neither left nor right as he walked. He would hear footsteps, even breathing, long before he saw anybody.

Gates rose up in front of Snape, similar to those he had just walked through. No need for wand-work this time; Snape simply rolled up his sleeve, presented his Dark Mark to the metal and continued walking as if the barrier was not there. He approached the house, visible only because of the lights shining from several windows, continuing to organise his mind. Less than a minute later he reached the door and ran his fingers over the cold metal of a door knocker etched into the shape of a coiled snake.

It was Draco Malfoy who admitted Snape. The boy was pale and thin, more so even than he had been the previous year, and no wonder, Snape thought. "Professor," Draco said, stepping back to allow Snape in and giving a small bow.

"Draco," Snape acknowledged. He didn't know which way the boy would turn in the end, but there was some small hope. "Where is your master?"

"In the smaller sitting room." The voice was subdued, and Snape noted that Draco did not offer to show his guest the way.

"Don't you want to join us?" Snape asked, his own voice as smooth as his step. He allowed a hint of sarcasm to alter his tone, and did not wait for a reply. It might still be possible to push the boy the right way. Catching the faint sound of footsteps barely audible along the carpeted hallway to his right, he put Draco out of his mind. "Bellatrix." Snape nodded this time. "I believe congratulations are in order. How is the Lovegood girl?"

"Alive, unhurt for now," Bellatrix laughed, pointing down at the floor to indicate that she was being held in a cellar or dungeon of some kind.

"I understand her father is co-operating?" Snape made it more of a statement than a question, and Bellatrix did not reply. She trusted him no more than he trusted her and they walked side by side, neither allowing the other to fall behind.

"You're here to see the Dark Lord?" Bellatrix asked, and again it was no question.

"Show me the way," Snape said, and this was not a request.


	46. Chapter 46

**Chapter Forty Six**

Ginny felt no safer at home with her parents, some of her brothers and the occasional aunt or uncle than she did at school. She spent the entirety of Christmas day thinking of Neville's prediction that the Death Eaters would choose a day of celebration for a large attack, and found herself reaching into her pocket regularly to place a hand on the reassuring presence of her wand. Still, it seemed that the protective enchantments around the Burrow held; no disturbance was forthcoming save for Ginny's great-aunt Muriel.

At the end of the day Ginny wished her family goodnight and went to her room, where she took hold of her wand in one hand and Harry's enchanted coin in the other. She composed a short message, wishing season's greetings and asking members of the DA to send an owl to her with any news of the Death Eaters' activities that day. It didn't matter that she'd heard nothing, and she didn't trust the veracity of the Daily Prophet that would be delivered to her father the following morning.

News began to arrive not long after Ginny had fallen asleep; the first owl flew in through the open window and landed on her head, digging talons into her hair until she woke and took the note it carried. This was followed by half a dozen more over the course of the night and next day, each message reporting skirmishes and minor injuries, with no casualties on either side. Several members of the DA, including a few who were underage, had fought alongside their adult relatives, in some cases changing the outcome of the battle.

It wasn't until the evening that Ginny had a more complete report. She'd had the impression that the Death Eaters had wanted to attack as many people as possible with no firm plans to eliminate any particular target; the Boxing Day edition of Potterwatch confirmed this. Around a hundred wizarding families had been attacked, resulting in a handful of injuries. "Worse," came a voice that Ginny knew well, "The Death Eaters broke into multiple muggle properties. We have reports of three families killed, and I would ask our listeners to observe a moment of silence in their memory."

Ginny, and the other Weasleys crowded around the wireless kept uncharacteristically quiet, waiting for Remus Lupin to begin speaking again. Curled up in an armchair at the back of the room, she avoided looking at the rest of her family.

"Thank you," Lupin said, and Ginny let out a breath she didn't know she'd been holding. "There are, I am pleased to say, four verified reports of witches and wizards shielding their muggle neighbours by use of protective enchantments that prevented Death Eaters from entering a muggle dwelling, and three reports of wizards challenging Death Eaters who were in the process of attacking muggles."

"Good for them," Ginny said loudly, earning herself a stern look from her mother and an approving nod from Bill, who was visiting for the evening with Fleur.

"They're taking a big risk," Mr. Weasley said.

"It's worth it," Ginny snapped.

"I never said it wasn't," her father replied.

The following week passed more slowly than Ginny would have liked. As much as she appreciated being at home with her family, they were not the only people or the only place she cared about. She was also restricted in what she could do to continue resisting Snape's regime, both because she was away from Hogwarts and because she was alone, without Luna and Neville. The biggest barrier, though, was her mother.

Molly Weasley would barely let Ginny, her youngest child and only daughter, out of her sight. Ginny understood that her mother didn't intend to be irritating, that her intention was benevolent, but this didn't make the frustration easier to bear. With only six months remaining until her seventeenth birthday, and having used magic as often as she wished since September, Ginny now found herself unable to perform the smallest spell. Neither could she often use Harry's enchanted coin, nor could she look through her books for spells to use against the Carrows.

The only way Ginny could ever manage to spend time alone was by stating that she was going to her room to do her holiday homework, and Mrs. Weasley knew her daughter well enough to be unconvinced that Ginny wished to do this every day. Instead Ginny cooked, cleaned, fed the chickens, helped her father in his shed and performed a myriad of other small chores that were useful, but not what she wanted to be doing.

On the Thursday before her return to Hogwarts Ginny sent a message to the DA, whispering the spell that would change her Master coin so that nobody else in the house heard. Her entire family was in bed; Ginny hoped that none of them would wake. She simply wrote the time and date of the next DA meeting, as Harry had so often done, then hid the coin in her trunk.

Ginny was more than ready to go back to school. She didn't know what she wanted, exactly, but she knew that being part of the movement resisting Snape, the Carrows and the Ministry was important. Of course she would have preferred that this wasn't necessary, that Dumbledore was still Headmaster, that Harry was safe at school, that Voldemort wasn't a threat to them all, but whenever these thoughts occurred she pushed them away. It wouldn't help anyone, she knew, to ignore reality.

Friday dawned rainy, and the clouds persisted all day. These fitted Ginny's mood; she snapped at her mother over breakfast, and found herself chewing a mouthful of soap bubbles. This only caused her to swear, and she was lucky that Molly Weasley couldn't make out the words through the hiccups and popping sounds. Mr. Weasley intervened, and Ginny obeyed his order for the simple reason that she didn't mind spending the morning in her room.

Saturday passed, the clouds passing too, but Ginny's mood didn't improve. She was so close now to returning to Hogwarts, and she spent the day reminding herself that after the following day she would not see her parents until the Easter holidays. This was a sobering thought, and she woke on Sunday morning less certain than before that she was ready to leave her home.


	47. Chapter 47

**Chapter Forty Seven**

Neville found his parents unchanged. When he and his Gran entered the closed ward the injured couple lived in, his father looked over from his bed and his mother made an attempt to rise. Neville hurried over to stand between the two beds, and grasped his mother's hand when she extended it towards him.

Mr. and Mrs. Longbottom did not speak. Neville couldn't remember them ever having done so, had no idea what their voices had sounded like. As usual in this room, he too had difficulty finding his voice. What could a person say, after all, to someone who didn't recognise them, or comprehend the words?

Alice Longbottom smiled for a fleeting moment, the expression quickly changing to one of confusion. "It's me, Neville, your son," Neville replied, reading the question correctly. This earned him another smile, lingering now a little longer, and he tried to move his own lips in response. Frank Longbottom had already turned away, and was now studying a spider hanging down from the ceiling.

"It's Christmas, Mum. Gran and I have come to see you," Neville said, fairly certain that his mother wouldn't understand the significance of the first clause. "Here, I brought you something," he said, and with his free hand he reached into his pocket. He drew out the present, which brought the same confused look back into his mother's eyes. "Look, I'll unwrap it for you," he said, as she seemed unaware of how to open the box.

Neville proceeded to do as he had stated, and drew out a length of purple and gold ribbon. "Shall I tie it to your hair?" he asked. "It would look pretty." The smile returned for a moment, and Neville tied the ribbon into the end of his mother's long plait. He flipped the hair forwards over her shoulder to show her, and her eyes met his for the first time since he had arrived. She took the end of the plait in her hands and began starting at it, entranced, Neville now forgotten.

Knowing that he wouldn't now get a response from his mother, Neville turned to his father. "Hi, Dad," he said. "Do you remember me? Neville. I'm your son. I've got something to give to you." He pulled out another small box, and again unwrapped a present for a parent who wasn't capable of doing it for themselves. This time the gift was a toy designed for a small child that changed shape and colour every few seconds by use of two charms that didn't usually work well together.

Frank Longbottom hadn't up to this point made any reaction save for the first quick glance when the door opened; now he stretched his hand towards the toy as if asking for a closer look. "It's for you to keep, Dad," Neville said, and placed the toy firmly in his father's palm. This was as much as he could do, and he began his retreat. As he passed his mother's bed her hand reached tentatively towards him and he stopped. Neville took a deep breath, knowing he couldn't ignore her. "What is it?" he asked, and she placed something in his hand.

Neville knew what it would be, had known before he'd spoken, and he thanked his mother. Giving him her sweet wrappers was the only way she could communicate with him, and he appreciated it.

The remainder of the holidays passed more slowly than Neville would have liked, given that he was eager to get back to school. He had completed his homework and found he had little to do other than household chores, a state of affairs that he found he didn't enjoy. Over the previous few months he had become used to always having something useful to do, even if it was no more than sitting down to think, and much the same as Ginny he found inaction to be dissatisfying.

Finally Sunday arrived. Neville had already packed everything he would need save for the few items he intended to use that morning before leaving, and these he added to his trunk as he prepared himself for the journey to the station. He was ready to go long before his Gran, and far earlier than necessary.

Neville wanted nothing more than to sit down on the Hogwarts Express with Ginny and Seamus, unless it was that Luna could join them. He had thought about her every day of the holidays, not knowing if she was alive, not knowing where she was being kept, half expecting Ginny to organise a raid on some place he'd never heard of in an attempt to rescue her. He had, though, managed to convince himself that her capture had not due to any failing on his behalf, and that if anyone could keep her spirits up in captivity, it was Luna.

Half past ten was the time Neville and his Gran had agreed upon for their departure, and he watched the clock until this point. Neville then pointed his wand at his trunk, Levitated it to make it easier to carry along the corridor and down the stairs, and proceeded into the living room.

Neville found his Gran buttoning up her coat. She was already wearing her hat and gloves, and he avoided looking at the former as he stepped closer. Without a word they grasped hands and twisted, moving in harmony through air that turned into compressing darkness. He kept a tight grip on his Gran and his trunk, thinking hard about the little alley near Kings Cross that they were planning to apparate into. A moment later they had arrived.

The pair walked silently, Neville now dragging his trunk. It was heavy, and by the time he reached the station he was short of breath. Still, he strode purposely ahead into the wall and stepped across onto platform 9 ¾. First he glanced back at his Gran, then ahead at the train.

"It's still quiet, but I'd like to get a seat," he told her. What he intended to do was reserve a compartment for himself, Ginny and Seamus, but he settled for saying, "I'll see you at Easter, then."

Neville stood a moment to receive the awkward, one-armed hug that was their only physical contact other than Side-Along Apparition, then without looking back boarded the Hogwarts Express.


	48. Chapter 48

**Chapter Forty Eight**

Snape visited Malfoy Manor once more over the Christmas holidays. Again he apparated from just outside the protective enchantments surrounding Hogwarts to the deserted lane near to his destination, again he walked through the wrought iron gates by virtue of his Dark Mark and again Draco Malfoy admitted him into the hallway. The boy was much the same as the last time Snape had seen him, pale and quiet, barely recogniseable as the self-assured teenager he had been a few years before. Snape chose his words with care, once more hoping to push Draco into the right course of action.

This time it was Draco himself, displaying great reluctance, who showed Snape into the Dark Lord's presence. Hooded, his slit eyes barely visible, the Dark Lord faced Snape, who bowed low with no trace of his usual sardonic smile. "We agreed on this time for a progress report, my lord," Snape said. "If it is still convenient, of course."

"Speak," Voldemort hissed, and although there was nothing in his tone to indicate that the Dark Lord was angry, Snape replied as carefully and efficiently as usual.

"We expect the students to return tomorrow," Snape said. "I personally shall oversee Argus Filch as he uses a Probity Probe and Secrecy Sensor to detect anything dangerous or hidden that they may try to bring into the castle."

"Good," Voldemort stated, his voice barely more than a whisper.

"I shall also be alert for any student who should fail to return," Snape said. "This would, strictly speaking, be a matter for the Ministry, but I was intending to inform yourself, as well as Thicknesse, should this law be broken by anyone other than your invited guest downstairs."

"As you should," Voldemort agreed. "And once the students have returned? Amycus and Alecto are continuing to meet with your satisfaction?"

"They still take great pleasure in their work," Snape said, now allowing a trace of a smile to cross his lips. "He is feared by the majority of the students, and he makes good use of his appointment in relation to punishments. She is disliked, and I fear it will be some time before the students appreciate her Muggle Studies lectures, yet she too does well in relation to punishments. Detention is something now to make even the older teenagers think twice before misbehaving."

Voldemort nodded, but didn't speak, so Snape continued.

"There have, of course, been measures put in place for students who persistently behave badly, and locking up Miss Lovegood will deprive the Carrows of much of their pleasure. I believe she may have been one of several to encourage misbehaviour in the other students. As yet I've not punished the other leaders too harshly. I felt this might make them more determined, so I wished to consult you before increasing punishments further."

"You really are the right man for the job, Severus," came the soft voice. "Anyone lesser might have hoped to break the Longbottom boy and Weasley girl through sheer torture, but if they can be turned instead… It was an unhappy complication, what happened to the boy's parents. I could use him, and them."

"I feel I must warn you, my Lord," Snape said, when it was clear that Voldemort had paused and was awaiting a response, "That it is my belief neither the boy nor the girl would ever wish to join our cause."

It was at this point that Snape became aware of a delicate probing at the edges of his mind. He raised his gaze to meet that of the Dark Lord and the real challenge began. They had covered no new ground as yet and both men were aware that the question of Snape's loyalty, not his news of Hogwarts, was the reason he had been summoned. Snape had, so far, said nothing other than what he believed to be the truth, and as he expected Voldemort first examined the recent memory of their conversation, searching for signs of deception. The Dark Lord would never trust Snape, something that both men knew well, so by now they were used to this verification.

"I wonder, my Lord, why you don't simply extract the memories you wish to see, and save the trouble of conversation," Snape said as he felt Voldemort begin to examine, yet again, random moments from the previous term. There was no reply, but the pull on his memories became stronger.

Snape saw, as if he was back there, the smashed glass cabinet. He saw Ginny, Neville and Luna standing at the top of the stairs to his office, the Sword of Gryffindor in his hand. He allowed himself to feel the anger and worry that he had felt at the time; it was after all unsettling that the students had managed to break into his office.

This memory floated away, and another took its place. Another followed, and Snape lost track of how much time had passed. He concentrated on suppressing only a few memories, knowing that if the Dark Lord should even begin to suspect him of using Occlumency, then there was a good chance that Snape would never leave Malfoy Manor.

Another memory rose to the surface, and it was only by exercising great restraint that Snape allowed Voldemort to see it.

"You still love her?" Voldemort asked softly, his lips twitching into what might, on a face less snake-like, have been called a smile.

"I lusted after her," Snape said. "I believed back then that she was a good-looking girl, and if I was to somehow see her now I should probably still find her attractive. That doesn't mean I'd act on the desire, then or now, not for a Mudblood and the wife of a boy who taunted me for seven years."

Again this was all true, yet the fine line Snape was walking had become thinner still; Voldemort knew some of this history, but not all. To his relief, Voldemort then began examining memories of James Potter, Sirius Black, Remus Lupin and Peter Pettigrew. This appeared to satisfy the Dark Lord, and Snape wondered idly if he had also broken into Pettigrew's mind.

"I have," came a whisper, and Snape realised that Voldemort had understood the thought. "He remembers those days with nearly as much self-pity and loathing as you do. Now, I believe it is past time for you to return to Hogwarts. Draco will see you out."


	49. Chapter 49

**Chapter Forty Nine**

The first few hours back at Hogwarts were not amusing for Ginny. She travelled to the castle with Neville, Seamus, and a group of seventh year Hufflepuff students from the DA in a carriage filled with posters and other propaganda. At first the students amused themselves by removing these from the walls and burning them, but the enjoyment was short-lived in comparison to the disquiet caused by reading the slogans. Some were anti-muggle, others pro-Ministry, and all were highly political. Ginny did her best not to read anything, but the headlines were usually very short and she found herself processing the words without meaning to.

Once Ginny reached the school grounds she joined a queue outside the front doors leading down halfway to the boundary of the walls and protective enchantments surrounding the premises. As she approached the reason became obvious. Standing either side of the doors, wide smiles on their faces, stood the two Carrows. One door was open, the other closed; in front of this Argus Filch was having one of the best days of his career.

Probity Probes and Secrecy Sensors were not something Ginny wanted to endure, so she turned to Neville and Seamus. "Are you with me?" she asked. "If I curse her, will you guys do the other two?"

"Yes," Neville said, and Seamus nodded his agreement.

"Alright, wait for me then," Ginny said. She wanted a clear aim, and some time to think about what curse to use. "What about an Imperious curse?" Ginny asked. "Say no if you don't want to." She herself was willing, but she also knew that the consequences could be severe. It wasn't her place to get other people into trouble over something this serious, if they weren't certain.

"What shall we make them do?" Neville asked. Ginny thought a moment, but she hadn't come up with an answer when Seamus offered a suggestion.

"We could make them walk into the Forest, or at least away from the castle," he said, his tone making it more of a question than a statement. "That way everyone else can just walk into school without this hassle," he pointed surreptitiously at Filch, "and it won't last when they get too far away. They'll come back before Snape realises they've gone."

"Nice," Ginny admitted, trying not to begrudge Neville this idea. "Wands out, but hide them." She drew her wand from her back pocket and slipped it up her sleeve. She could feel it against the inside of her wrist, and knew she could use it in less than a second if necessary.

The line of students moved slowly but continuously until at last Ginny, Neville and Luna were at the front. Filch turned to indicate that the first-year Ravenclaw he had just examined was free to enter the castle; seeing that both Carrows were looking out over the crowd, Ginny whispered, "Now!"

The three spoke quietly but firmly. It was the first time Ginny had attempted the Imperious curse, and it was more effective than she had expected it to be. Both Carrows and Filch stepped meekly from their posts and headed purposefully towards the Forbidden Forest. Ginny waited just long enough to be sure that they weren't immediately going to turn back then, ignoring the warm tingle down her arm that the curse had caused, she led the queue of students into the school.

Ginny had scheduled a DA meeting for that evening, and with fifteen minutes to go she left the Gryffindor common room. She had crossed several passageways and climbed three staircases when she turned a corner and came face to face with Amycus Carrow.

"What're you doing here?" he asked.

"I go to school here," Ginny said coolly. "I have to, it's the law. Believe me, I don't do it for fun."

"Shut up and tell me why you're in this corridor," Carrow snapped.

"Because I can be," Ginny said, thinking quickly. There was nothing nearby that she could use as an excuse, not the library, her common room nor the Hospital Wing. With no better idea, she simply Confunded the teacher, whose questions immediately changed.

"Who am I?" Amycus Carrow asked.

"Gwenog Jones," Ginny told him, her face straight. The captain of the Holyhead Harpies was the first person who had come to mind, and she realised belatedly that it was usually a female name.

"Alright, why am I here?" Carrow tried.

"You were on your way to take tea with Professor McGonagall," Ginny told him. "She has cream cakes. Her office is just down there." She pointed, and gave simple directions.

"But who was I? Do I like tea?" Carrow asked.

"Just go down that corridor, it's the last door on the right," Ginny repeated. Obediently Professor Carrow walked off, humming tunelessly. This reminded Ginny strongly of Luna, who could so often be found wandering without purpose, humming to herself, and she took a few deep breaths to calm herself.

Ginny watched as Professor Carrow knocked on the door to McGonagall's office and asked if she was going to give him tea and cake, torn between laughter and concern. She was calm enough, just, to dart out of sight before McGonagall herself emerged to deal with the situation, and in a way she was sorry she'd inflicted it upon the teacher. Still, Ginny had the impression that McGonagall too might find amusement in Amycus Carrow's confusion.

From there Ginny hurried to the Room of Requirement. It was already open, the door that appeared in the wall swinging silently out of her way to show her Neville already seated in an armchair near to a blazing log fire. She approached and took the next chair along.

"This is more cosy than when I make it," Ginny said, waving her hand to indicate her surroundings.

"Well, I didn't do it on purpose," Neville said. "I just thought of a place that the DA could meet safely and this is what the Room did."

"I'm not complaining," Ginny said. "Listen, I just Confunded Carrow. You know, him," she added, seeing Neville's questioning look and correctly interpreting it. "I sent him to McGonagall for tea and cream cakes."

"Brilliant," Neville laughed. "But what if the female Carrow's also wandering around? Or Snape? Not everyone would just charm a teacher in the middle of the corridor."

Ginny said something very rude.


	50. Chapter 50

**Chapter Fifty**

Neville laughed at Ginny's audacity, appreciating what she had done to Professor Carrow and wishing he could have seen the Confunded teacher barge into McGonagall's office expecting pots of tea and cream cakes. Still, it had been a stroke of luck that Carrow had found Ginny rather than one of the other DA, and there were other staff out there who would punish any students found too far from their common rooms. He said this, then winced at Ginny's reply.

"Should we call the meeting off and get out of here?" Neville asked? "Or go looking for everyone else and escort them in?"

"No," Ginny said. "They'll either be seen or they won't. We can't hope to find the whole DA. I wish we could put the Carrows out of it permanently."

"We'd have the Ministry here if we did that," Neville said, deciding not to mention that he too shared this ideal. If Ginny knew he agreed, she would be more likely to do something drastic that the Ministry would not ignore.

There was no chance for Ginny to reply to this; the door opened again to admit almost the entirety of the seventh year Hufflepuffs. These students, despite being unlike in looks and personalities, were all wearing the same slightly guilty grin.

"What did you do?" Neville asked. He was unsurprised to find Ginny speaking exactly the same words, given that there could only be that one reaction to the Hufflepuffs' expressions.

It was Ernie MacMillan who answered. "We left our common room together," he said. "When we got to a few corridors away from here, we met Professor Carrow. Her. She asked us what we were doing so far away from anywhere. So Susan used a memory charm, you know, Obliviate. And she, Carrow, she just wandered off down the corridor asking for her Daddy. She seemed to think she was just a child."

At this this Hufflepuffs, evidently remembering this moment, broke out into giggles that took several minutes to bring under control. Neville joined in, a little disappointed that he hadn't seen this himself but mostly pleased that neither Carrow would be causing trouble for the remainder of the evening.

"It's true," Susan Bones said. She rarely spoke during meetings, or at all as far as Neville could tell; now she appeared more animated than she had any time during the previous term.

"It was brilliant," Hannah Abbot agreed.

"And I thought I'd done well," Ginny said, but she was smiling.

"What did you do?" Ernie asked.

Neville listened as Ginny once again told the story of Amycus Carrow, Professor McGonagall, the tea and cream cakes. It was nearly as good the second time around, and he realised then that he had not laughed properly for several months. It was this, maybe, that meant Ginny told her story, and encouraged Ernie to tell his, every time a new group of people entered. Usually she wouldn't have allowed this waste of time; Neville suspected that she wanted to maintain a sense of enjoyment whilst this was still possible.

The meeting established that everyone in the DA had returned to school, that they were all safe and all had passed fairly quiet holidays. Neville was pleased when business moved on and they began to discuss the current situation.

"It seems people are willing to use stronger spells," Neville said. "I mean, they were Cruciating us the last few weeks before Christmas, now we've Confunded one Carrow and wiped the other's memory."

"They'll be back to normal once Madam Pomfrey gets her wand on them," Ginny said, "But still, they won't hold back so we shouldn't either. Be careful if they're both together, of course, or if Snape or any Slytherins are around."

"You're saying we should curse them, or jinx or whatever?" one of the fourth year Gryffindor boys asked.

"Only if you feel safe," Ginny told him, and Neville nodded.

"Try to make sure they don't know who's doing it, too," he said. "Lots of people around, or make it something like today so they don't remember properly."

"And remember Snape is more powerful than either of them," Ginny said. "He can read minds if you let him, so don't let him look you in the eye. It's best to avoid him. Leave him to me and Neville."

Neville wasn't sure if he was pleased by this last comment or not. He recognised it for the compliment that it was, but still he didn't feel up to facing Snape in a duel, even with Ginny by his side. Now, if Luna had been there as well… He stopped this train of thought, only to find that the group was now discussing what he was trying to avoid.

"No, we've still had no contact," Ginny was saying to a Ravenclaw girl who shared Luna's dormitory. "I'm sure she's alright, the Prophet would have reported it if anything bad had happened to her."

"If anyone can keep sane locked up by Death Eaters, it's Luna," he said. "Well, not sane, but if anyone can stay herself, it's her." He paused, and the Ravenclaw girl began speaking again.

"Are we going to try to rescue her?"

"No," Ginny said firmly, before Neville could answer. "We don't know where she is, and if we did we would only end up captured ourselves, or killed. If we knew what was going on, I'd be more than willing to help, I'd curse anyone who tried to stop me, but right now we can be more use here."

"Well said," Ernie broke in. "As much as we all like Luna – "

"Some more than others," Hannah Abbot muttered, but Ernie ignored her. Neville felt his cheeks heating.

"We all like Luna," Ernie insisted, "But there's more people here we can help."

Neville felt his cheeks start to cool when the Ravenclaw girl interrupted Ernie. "But isn't it illegal not to come to school? What do we say if they ask what we know?"

"The truth," Ginny said immediately. "You last saw her at the end of last term. She never mentioned leaving. You got back today and heard rumours that she'd been abducted off the train, but you saw nothing."

The Ravenclaw girl turned to speak to the other sixth year girls from her house. "And what do we say, if they ask us?" Neville said quietly.

"They won't," Ginny told him.


	51. Chapter 51

**Chapter Fifty One**

When Luna had first been captured the Death Eaters had taken everything she possessed, save for the clothes she had been wearing at the time. These were some of her limited muggle attire, worn only for journeys across London on her way to school, and the Death Eaters hadn't searched the pockets of her denim jacket.

Luna had grown used to the cellar of Malfoy Manner over the last few weeks. She had enough, just, to eat and drink, a chamber pot that was emptied daily and the company of Mr. Ollivander the wand-maker. He was, she had quickly discovered, a fascinating man. His wandlore, and his knowledge of magic in general, was lesser only than that of Albus Dumbledore, Professor McGonagall and her father. She thought often of her father, and how upset he must have been when she failed to return for Christmas, but she didn't allow herself to focus on this.

Instead Luna put all of her not inconsiderable understanding and focus into one task only; finding a way out of the dark room that had become her home. After several days of discussion with Mr. Ollivander she knew that the only way out was the door. She also knew that she, without her wand, could overpower neither Wormtail nor Draco Malfoy, the only two persons who ever opened the route to freedom. The old wandmaker was too disheartened and physically frail to be of any use, but Luna had other ideas.

Luna had considered some kind of a trick, but put this thought aside in favour of what she considered to be a better option. She slipped her hand into her jacket pocket and closed her fingers around the cold metal of a coin. The textbooks she had read several months previously had suggested that it was impossible to change a Protean charm once it had been performed; the Master would remain the Master and the Mimics would remain Mimics. The books, she suspected, had been wrong.

There were two books that Luna had read, the Standard Book of Spells used by all seventh year students but also available in the library as a reference to anyone else, and the ancient Charms Most Obscure. The first had been written for for incompletely trained witches or wizards, the second was well outdated. Mr. Ollivander, who occasionally used the Protean charm to ensure that the essence of a wand always matched its owner, told her that he thought otherwise. "The wand is the Master," he had told her several weeks before. "It chooses the wizard. But if the wizard, or witch, changes significantly in their personality, they may not be well matched with the wand. In this case the wand must become the Mimic, the wizard the Master."

"Is it something like that," Luna had asked, "If a wand passes from one wizard to another?"

"Yes, exactly," Ollivander then replied. "Again the wand, which was created as a Master, must become the Mimic. Not that this is strictly the Protean charm, you know. That is simply the best way I can describe it to one not learned in the art."

"But if you had a real Mimic," Luna had almost heard the smile in Ollivander's voice; hers was less strong. "Could you do the same? Change it into a Master?"

"With my wand, without a doubt," Ollivander said. "Alas, it is a theory we shall never test."

Luna had not mentioned the conversation, nor brought up the topic of the Protean charm, since that moment. Instead she waited each night until Ollivander's breathing deepened into sleep, then pulled her Galleon out of her pocket. During the day she questioned Ollivander on all aspects of wandlore, and during the night she lay on the stone floor, the charmed coin in her hand. Slowly she learned more about the art of making wands, until at last she felt comfortable starting to experiment.

The biggest difficulty was that Luna had no wand. Still, as she had proved on her first night in the cellar, she could use some magic without channelling it through an instrument. A flame flickered in her palm without difficulty, and after some practice she had mastered the ability to heat the cold stone that was her bed. What she intended now was far more difficult.

It was Christmas day, although Luna didn't know it, when she first made the attempt to change her coin from a Mimic to a Master. As she expected, nothing happened. She simply gave herself a little light, taking care not to wake the sleeping Ollivander, and tried again.

From that day Luna made ten attempts each night, after the wandmaker had fallen asleep. She kept to this self-imposed limit, occasionally feeling a tingling in her palm or a slight warmth in the usually chill metal of the coin, but there was never the flow of energy, the sense that something in the world around her had changed. Luna refused to try more often than this, because she knew she would quickly begin to go insane or to lose hope if the coin became her only focus.

Luna behaved well, obeying instructions during Wormtongue and Draco's visits, but she didn't stop wondering how she could trick one of the pair into allowing her to escape, willingly or not. When Mr. Ollivander began to become more reticent in sharing his knowledge she asked questions relating to anything except wandlore, and found that she quite enjoyed these conversations. She kept what she was doing secret, because she knew he would not believe she could do what she intended.

It was somewhere around the middle of January when Luna first tried something different in her attempts to change the charmed coin. She didn't need to make it a Master permanently, but just the once, to send one message. Some of the phrases that Mr. Ollivander had inadvertently taught her, then, might need a little adjustment.

Luna made her first attempt of the night, leading to the now-familiar feeling of tingling in her fingertips. It wasn't enough, but it was as good as anything she had done before. Twice more she tried, using minor alterations to the incantation, with the same result.

On the fourth time, the tingling exploded into a feeling of warmth that radiated down her arm into the golden Galleon with a faint silver glow.


	52. Chapter 52

**Chapter Fifty Two**

Ginny spent the first two weeks of term orchestrating chaos. The Professors Carrow couldn't walk into a sixth or seventh year class without being cursed, jinxed, hexed or otherwise incapacitated, which was more complicated to co-ordinate than it seemed. Not only did they have to hide the culprit from the teacher, they had to ensure that the Slytherins in the room also did not know who had performed the spell. Some things could be prepared beforehand, but in general the students relied on the Confundus charm or a memory charm.

In the second week of term rumours began to circulate of students who had found one of the Carrows, or Argus Filch, flat on the floor in the middle of a corridor, or else wandering around with no idea of who they were or where they were going. More than once the teachers had grown extra body parts, and Filch fell victim to a bat-bogey hex that was, according to Neville, nearly as good as Ginny's. Ginny appreciated these stories, but she drafted a new poster warning everyone that such measures should only be taken by those willing to accept the consequences.

Seamus drew the poster out neatly, and with a wave of her wand Ginny copied it for the Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff common rooms. The attacks did not stop, and Ginny herself came upon Amycus Carrow, unconscious outside his office with tentacles projecting from his ears. She didn't stop to help, but hurried quickly past. She continued to the library without the slightest trace of guilt, safe in the knowledge that if she had been seen anywhere near the scene, she would have been blamed. There were times, Ginny had to admit, that her accusers would have been right.

The first weekend passed, then Monday and Tuesday. Only Wednesday to go, and Ginny would be done with both Muggle Studies and Defence for the week. The following day dawned snowy and Ginny dragged herself out of bed with reluctance. It was warm and comfortable under the layers of sheets and blankets; only the promise of a soak in the bath after breakfast was enough to hasten her to the Great Hall before the meal was over.

Ginny piled toast onto a plate, and with a quick glance at the staff table she walked out of the Great Hall. She spent the next hour luxuriating in the marble bathtub in the Prefects' bathroom, to which she had no right; the password was known by most of the older students and few were scrupulous enough to avoid using the facilities. She swum a few lengths before returning to Gryffindor Tower and working on her latest Charms essay.

After lunch Ginny went to the Defence classroom, where she successfully Vanished Professor Carrow's robes. His belly sagged over most of his tight white underwear, which she saw far too much of before he turned and ran from the room. The view was no better from behind, and even the Slytherin students joined in the laughter. This would have been more amusing had Carrow not returned as the sixth years were gathering outside his sister's classroom for their Muggle Studies lesson to give the entire group a detention.

Ginny was in a poor mood during the Muggle Studies class. She had so far avoided detention since she had returned to Hogwarts, and she was not keen to return to the dungeons that evening. It wasn't so much the punishment that she was worried about, tough though it was sure to be. What worried Ginny slightly was that, being out of practice, she might not be able to hide her emotions from the Carrows. She would not, she stated firmly to the girls in her dorm, show anything save defiance.

Her friends, sat on either side of her on the back row, were no compensation for losing Luna. She knew them well, she appreciated their bravery and their loyalty, but she missed the assistance of someone who had spent several years fighting against Death Eaters. More than anything, she missed Luna's humour.

At the required hour Ginny did as she was commanded, and entered the largest dungeon. The remainder of the Gryffindors, Hufflepuffs and Ravenclaws followed her in, all with wands out. This had been Ginny's orders, and it was also on her instruction that, when she bent to place her wand on the floor, they all did the same. The Carrows could only inflict punishment because the students let them, and this was something Ginny wanted them to know. In truth, Ginny would have loved to curse the Carrows during a detention, but this would be a sure way to bring Ministry interference into the school.

"Pick'em up," Alecto said, a snarl twisting her lumpy face. "Pick'em up and fight each other."

"We want everyone hurt before anyone leaves," Amycus said. He was fully dressed again, his hands clasped low to cover his pelvis. "Get on with it, and don't think of turning those wands on us."

Alecto Carrow turned and shot a spell at the door; Ginny hadn't come across it before, and didn't know how to break it. The door closed, and Ginny knew she'd never open it herself. A good Reductor curse, aimed carefully through the wall, though… It wasn't worth it, she reminded herself. She would prefer to manage the Carrows without the Ministry complicating matters. She glanced at the Ravenclaw next to her, who nodded. Ginny nodded back.

The two girls retrieved their wands; Ginny shot a Jelly-legs jinx and her opponent caused the bottom of Ginny's robes to catch fire. Ginny extinguished this with a jet of water from her wand, and looked up into complete chaos.

Ginny woke later, shivering. Her arms, shoulders and chest hurt, leading her to realise that she was chained to the wall. She was alone in the dungeon, which was pitch black. "Accio wand!" she said, and the palm of her hand stung with the sudden impact of wood on bloodless flesh. "Reducto!" she gasped, pleased to be able to use the curse at last. Stone chips flew as the shackles shattered and her arms dropped. Her wrists began to ache. "Lumos!" Ginny commanded next. She didn't look at her wrists, which she knew were bruised and lacerated from the chill metal, but returned straight to her dorm.

Rummaging in her trunk for a cooling salve, Ginny's hand fell upon her enchanted Galleon. It was warm.


	53. Chapter 53

**Chapter Fifty Three**

Neville waited for Ginny and the other sixth year students to return from their detention before going to bed. They arrived as a group, sporting various cuts, bruises and other signs of magical attack, shortly before midnight. All except Ginny, who, they said, had been left hanging in chains in the dungeon.

"She has her wand," one of the boys said, holding a tissue to his cheek to stop the bleeding. "We would have helped, but they walked us back up here."

"Probably to make sure you didn't go to McGonagall," Neville said. "I expect they're still outside, waiting to see if we'll leave the Tower after hours. If she's not back soon I'll try a Disillusionment charm."

This wasn't necessary; Ginny appeared less than half an hour later with a lump on the back of her head and scraped wrists. She gave Neville a nod and he began to tidy up the essay he had been working on. This was as much acknowledgement as he was going to get, but he was pleased to see that Ginny was not defeated. A little wobbly, bruised and bleeding, maybe, but she crossed the common room with her head high.

Neville took his things up to his dorm, and began to put everything back onto the overturned bed that he and Seamus now used as a desk. He tried to keep quiet and did not light a second candle, but when he reached into the pocket of his robes all thoughts of not waking Seamus vanished. Neville had only wanted to clear out his pockets before changing into his pyjamas, but when his fingertips brushed against the golden Galleon it was warm. He didn't think Ginny had sent a message in the few moments she had been back so he moved the coin towards the flickering candle with even more interest than usual.

A moment later Neville was shaking Seamus awake. "Muffliato," he began, the once the charm was in place he said, "Look at this, It must be from Luna."

"I'm safe," Seamus read out loud. "She's put her initials, too, you're right, it's Luna. I bet she couldn't write anything longer."

"But she doesn't have the Master coin," Neville said, but he was distracted then by a knock on the door. He opened it to find Ginny; Seamus pulled his bedclothes high up his chest to cover his pyjamas.

"It's Luna, it has to be," Neville said, before Ginny could speak.

"Without the Master coin, and without a wand?" Ginny asked. "She can't have her wand, I'm sure if she did she'd have got out by now."

"Someone's managed to change the Protean charm," Neville said. "I don't know if they changed a Mimic to a Master, or created a second Master from an unenchanted coin then linked it to ours, but both are meant to be impossible."

"Not if your name is Lovegood," Ginny said, smiling.

Neville endured his Muggle Studies class the following morning, occasionally shooting bubbles into the air when Professor Carrow wasn't looking. These didn't burst but moved slowly towards the teacher and began to rotate around her head. At first the teacher tried to ignore them, but when Neville began to turn the bubbles purple and Carrow could no longer see through the haze, she began to get angry.

This was amusing, especially when the Patil twins began to join in the fun, but Neville was having difficulty concentrating. Ginny had used her coin, which still seemed to work as normal, to organise a DA meeting for that evening. Until then he didn't dare to discuss Luna's message, which had disappeared when Ginny replaced it with hers. He didn't know how he managed to complete the double lesson without earning a detention, but when Professor Carrow let the class go he left quickly before she could change her mind.

Neville went straight to the greenhouses, even though he didn't need to hurry because the morning break separated his previous lesson from the upcoming Herbology class. He walked with Ernie, Hannah and Susan, passing though the castle in near silence. When they reached the grounds their first words were complaints against the cold and wind, but these exclamations soon settled in favour of discussing more important topics.

"Yes, I think Luna wrote it, but we'll discuss it tonight, I'm sure," Neville said, when Hannah asked. She had no time to reply before Neville spotted movement, and called out, "Hagrid?"

The large form of the gamekeeper was ploughing through a fresh fall of snow towards the small group. "Neville!" Hagrid greeted him. "Ernie, Hannah, Susan, how are yeh all? What do yer say ter comin' round mine? On Saturday? Say abou' two?"

"Is this another Support Harry Potter party? Because if it is, we shouldn't, but I believe it's more important to do what's right than to follow the rules," Ernie said; Hagrid nodded proudly.

Neville didn't reply for a moment, wanting to find some inoffensive way to suggest to Hagrid that the party would not be safe. "It's dangerous, and there's nothing to be gained by it," he said. "If I thought it would help at all, I'd say yes without having to think about it, but it won't help anything." He'd hoped Hagrid had forgotten the idea, but it seemed he had not.

"It'll help, all righ'," Hagrid said. "It'll help if I get sacked. I can be more use, see, out there, not trapped here. An' if Harry hears, then he'll know we're thinkin' of him, yeh see?"

These had been the same arguments that Hagrid had used the previous term, and since then Neville had had more important things on his mind than refuting them. "If we do," he said, "Then it's only older students, like before. And only people who are willing to risk detention. It'll be serious if Snape or the Carrows hear about it."

"Yeh can tell me all the lates' news," Hagrid said. "What you done to 'em, all that sort o' thing."

"It'll still be an illegal gathering of students," Neville warned him.

"Since when do yer care abou' that?" Hagrid asked.


	54. Chapter 54

**Chapter Fifty Four**

Snape pointed his wand towards the staircase. He remained seated behind his desk, knowing who the revolving steps would bring into his office. The magically transported sound of the gargoyle knocking at the lower door had interrupted him in the middle of drafting a letter, and he placed this within a drawer with his left hand as he kept his wand steady with his right. The two Carrows appeared in the doorway, him supporting her as they approached. Both wore the same twist to the lips suggestive of a foul taste. Snape ignored this, and said nothing.

"They dropped a cauldron of rat brains on her head, filthy little muggle-lovers," Amycus spat.

"And does she seem any more intelligent?" Snape responded drily. "Tergeo!" he added, and the mess slowly dripping from Alecto's hair disappeared.

"Filthy-" Amycus began again, then he appeared to remember that he was, after all, speaking to the Headmaster. No matter that the Dark Lord would not place one of the two men above the other, they were for the time being in Hogwarts, and not in his presence. For the moment, Snape held the superiority.

"Undoubtedly," Snape agreed succinctly, his tone making it clear that he understood Alecto's use of the word had not been in reference to the mess that Snape had just cleaned. The lumpy-faced man swallowed several times, clearly holding back a string of impolite language, or perhaps a curse. Neither possibility worried Snape, who waited to find out what the Carrows wanted. When it became clear that Snape wasn't going to fill the silence, Amycus spoke.

"I want the kids punished, Severus. Punished properly."

"And here I sat, thinking you wanted me to help your sister." Snape maintained his cool, his tone cold enough to chill pumpkin juice.

"That too," Amycus snapped, his red face darkening further. "But Pomfrey could do that. It's the kids I want. I want permission to keep 'em out of class for a few days, teach them what a detention really means. Look what they done to 'er! We can't give proper punishments if we have to stop for 'em to go to classes!"

Snape knew he could neither refuse nor grant this permission immediately. To give himself time he said, "Explain."

"She was in 'er office, the cauldron on the floor, rats' brains everywhere," Amycus said, no more calmly. "I found 'er myself. Awake, but not talking, not doing nothing at all. Barely followed me up here."

"Bring her here," Snape said, and as the Carrows approached the problem became more obvious. "The cauldron hit her head," he stated, allowing the scorn he felt to enter his voice. A quick wave of his wand, and Alecto's glazed eyes cleared. She pulled herself away from her brother and stood tall. "A simple matter of reducing the swelling in her brain," he told the two, his tone implying that Amycus should have understood this.

Neither Carrow thanked Snape. "I want the Dark Lord to hear about this!" Alecto said.

"He shall," Snape assured her. "The next time I make a report, he shall hear all about how you walked underneath a cauldron that you should have seen. Had you not taken the precaution of looking around you as you entered your office, you should have at least smelled the contents."

Both Carrows stiffened, but it was an emotional response rather than the result of a Stunning spell. It lasted only moments, and both left the room without another word. Snape did not allow any outward expression of his emotions, and he did not immediately pull his letter back out. Instead he sat in silence, thinking.

Reports of attacks on the two Carrows, and on Argus Filch, reached Snape on a daily basis. Often these came from the individuals involved, sometimes from other members of staff. He thought he knew who was leading, or at least organising, the majority of these, and over the Christmas holidays he had hoped that the loss of Luna Lovegood might result in her friends' better behaviour upon the students' return to Hogwarts.

It appeared that this had been futile, an eventuality that Snape had also planned for. Ginny Weasley and Neville Longbottom were, he was certain, co-ordinating at least some of the disturbances that had become a commonplace occurrence. He had not singled them out in any way, nor been involved in any disciplinary action taken by the Carrows. His only option, he had understood from the start of the school year, was to display complete disinterest as far as possible.

The students had never attacked Snape himself, something that he believed to be partly down to their outright fear of him, and partly because he never wandered the school without taking adequate precaution. They feared the Carrows, but also understood that he was far more dangerous than they. Snape was smarter, faster with a wand, far more experienced and a more powerful wizard than the brother and sister that the Dark Lord had placed within Hogwarts to supervise him. He trusted them about as much as they trusted him, and all three knew it.

It gratified Snape that the students did not dare to turn their wands on him. He could, of course, defend himself, but it was better that he did not have to do so. He settled back in his chair and, as the noise of the revolving staircase stopped, lowered his wand. The Carrows were back in the corridor, and the immediate danger had passed. He could, he thought, have duelled them both at once, but did not care to test the assumption.

Snape did not fear death. He was not scared that the Dark Lord, the Carrows, a Death Eater or a member of the Order of the Phoenix would kill him. His own life mattered as little to him now as it had done since his early childhood, something that allowed him to enter dangerous or even deadly situations without emotion. His only worry was that his end would come before he had completed his mission, the most vital of tasks in the struggle between the Dark Lord and Harry Potter.


End file.
